Africa’s Energy Dilemma
Lady Diana Ereyitomi Eyo-Enoette
Not all diplomats wear suits, some wear purpose – DeeEnvoy
Energy poverty is Africa’s silent crisis.
According to the African Development Bank (AfDB, 2021), over 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity, and nearly 900 million rely on traditional biomass for cooking. For many, the question is not whether to choose solar over coal, it is whether they can cook dinner without inhaling smoke or study at night under a working bulb.
This is the paradox, while global conversations on climate insist Africa must leapfrog into renewables, the reality is that without massive investment, policy flexibility, and locally led innovation, the transition risks being another imposed agenda. Scholars like Newell and Mulvaney (2013) have warned that “green economy transitions can reproduce global inequalities if not embedded in justice frameworks.” This is Africa’s danger, being pushed into a transition that secures Western climate goals but leaves African households and economic realities in darkness.
The Cost of Silence and Compliance
History has taught us that Africa’s greatest losses often come not from resistance, but from compliance. Colonialism was once justified as a “civilizing mission,” structural adjustment as “reforms for growth,” and now the green transition as “saving the planet.” The risk is that Africa’s voice is drowned out again in the noise of global urgency.
A just transition for Africa must mean energy sovereignty in decision making, the right to determine how we power our economies, how we manage our resources, and how we balance fossil use with renewable expansion in ways that reflect local realities. As Nigerian scholar Chuks Okereke (2021) notes, “Climate justice for Africa is not merely about reducing carbon, it is about creating pathways to development that respect dignity, equity, and sovereignty.”
Beyond Propaganda: Building Our Own Narrative
The danger of doubt, the doubt that Africa can lead, can innovate, can define its own future still hangs heavy. If we dance too long to the tune of donor prescriptions, we risk becoming mere implementers of foreign roadmaps. But creativity, innovation, and resilience are not alien to Africa. From Kenya’s M-Pesa digital revolution to Nigeria’s solar micro-grids and South Africa’s wind projects, the seeds of energy independence are already germinating.
What we must resist is the narrative that our role is only to comply. Africa’s youthful population is not a burden but a force. If empowered with education, skills, and access, our youth can design technologies, lead local climate innovations, and build industries that root the green transition in African soil.
Towards an African Just Transition
Africa’s path to energy sustainability must not be a copy of Europe’s or America’s. It must be African in spirit, African in design, and African in implementation. Yes, the world needs climate action, but Africa needs climate justice. And climate justice means that no transition can be just if Africa is left in the dark.
The road ahead is not easy, but it is clear: Africa must claim the right to define its transition. Not as beggars of aid, not as footnotes to global reports, but as creators of solutions that light up homes, empower women, employ youth, and secure futures. Because development that erases dignity is not development and a transition that silences Africa is not just.
Africa must rise, not only to save the planet, but to save itself with power, with voice, and with light.
Africa Always,
Lady Diana Ereyitomi Eyo-Enoette
Honorary Consul & Special Envoy on Sustainability | London Embassy to Africa (Sovereign Kingdom of Hawaii).
References
• International Labour Organization (ILO). (2015). Guidelines for a Just Transition towards Environmentally Sustainable Economies and Societies for All. Geneva: ILO.
• International Energy Agency (IEA). (2022). Africa Energy Outlook 2022. Paris: IEA.
• African Development Bank (AfDB). (2021). New Deal on Energy for Africa. Abidjan: AfDB.
• Newell, P., & Mulvaney, D. (2013). The political economy of the ‘just transition’. The Geographical Journal, 179(2), 132–140.
• Okereke, C. (2021). Climate justice and Africa’s future. African Affairs, 120(480), 205–219.
