Energy transition in Africa: Context, barriers and strategies

Abstract

The global energy scene is awash with discourse, policies and technologies clamoring for clean energy. The global energy sector is now focused on transitioning from fossil-based fuels to low-carbon ones. The energy landscape in Africa, however, tells a different story. While there are significant efforts to utilize less-polluting sources of energy in Africa, there has also been a swell in recent oil and gas discoveries, and many African countries are at the brink of capitalizing them. Through an interpretive analysis of Africa's resource potential as well as its energy production and consumption, this chapter argues that the energy transition in Africa will take a different form from the rest of the world's. A wholesale transition would be misplaced, not because of a lack of legitimacy in the transition's concerns but rather because of the attendant risks of the transition. Using South Africa, Kenya Ethiopia and Morocco as case studies, the chapter will demonstrate the barriers to Africa's energy transition and advocate for blended strategies that would allow African countries to capitalize their fossil fuel reserves while at the self-same time achieve a path consistent with the Paris Targets.