The need for a global transition to a low carbon economy has gained a lot of attention in recent years following the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015 whose main aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, thus necessitating a shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Although many developed countries especially in Europe are able to more easily shift to renewables, the question that arises is, are developing countries such as those in Africa ready for this shift? The strong correlation between economic development and energy consumption also raises the question as to how African countries can address energy poverty and access challenges while at the same time protecting the environment? Given the energy challenges and low rates of economic development in most Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, this chapter addresses the decarbonising efforts in Africa highlighting the challenges and way forward.
References
Adenle, A.A., Ford, J.D., Morton, J., Twomlow, S., Alverson, K., Cattaneo, A., Cervigni, R., Kurukulasuriya, P., Huq, S., Helfgott, A. and Ebinger, J.O. 2017. Managing Climate Change Risks in Africa-A Global Perspective. Ecological Economics 141: 190–201.
CrossRefGoogle Scholar
African Development Bank Group. 2019. The PIDA Energy Vision. http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Generic-Documents/PIDA%20brief%20Energy.pdf.
Avila, N., Carvallo, J.P., Shaw, B. and Kammen, D.M. 2017. The Energy Challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Guide for Advocates and Policy Makers. https://www.oxfamamerica.org/static/media/files/oxfam-RAEL-energySSA-pt1.pdf.
Bouzarovski, S., 2009. East-Central Europe’s Changing Energy Landscapes: A Place for Geography. Area 41(4): 452–463.
CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BP. 2017. Statistical Review of World Energy, 2017. https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/en/corporate/pdf/energy-economics/statistical-review-2017/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2017-full-report.pdf.
BP. 2018. BP Energy Outlook: 2018 Edition. https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/energy-outlook/bp-energy-outlook-2018.pdf.
Bridge, G., Bouzarovski, S., Bradshaw, M. and Eyre, N., 2013. Geographies of Energy Transition: Space, Place and the Low-Carbon Economy. Energy Policy 53: 331–340.
CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bulkeley, H., Broto, V.C., Hodson, M. and Marvin, S. (Eds.). 2010. Cities and Low Carbon Transitions. Routledge.
Google Scholar
CleanTechnica. 2018. Electric Car Sales in Emerging EV Markets—Chapter 1: Africa, November 24, 2018. https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/24/electric-car-sales-in-emerging-ev-markets/.
ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. 2019. Overview of ECREEE. http://www.ecreee.org/page/overview-ecreee.
Ellabban, O., Abu-Rub, H. and Blaabjerg, F. 2014. Renewable Energy Resources: Current Status, Future Prospects and Their Enabling Technology. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 39: 748–764.
CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ershad, A.M. 2017. Review Article: Institutional and Policy Assessment of Renewable Energy Sector in Afghanistan. Journal of Renewable Energy 2017(5723152).
CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Euractiv. 2018. EU Eights ‘Derogation’ for Poland in Bid to Phase Out Coal, December 17, 2018. https://www.euractiv.com/section/electricity/news/eu-weighs-derogation-for-poland-in-bid-to-phase-out-coal/.
Europa. 2019. Adaptation to Climate Change. https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/adaptation_en.
Heffron, R.J. and McCauley, D., 2018. What is the ‘Just Transition’?. Geoforum 88: 74–77.
CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2007. AR4 Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar4/syr/.
International Energy Agency (IEA). 2014. Special Report: World Energy Investment Outlook, 2014. https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/WEIO2014.pdf.
International Energy Agency (IEA). 2019. Coal. https://www.iea.org/topics/coal/.
International Renewable Energy Agency. 2018. Energy Transition. https://www.irena.org/energytransition.
Jaguar. 2019. Jaguar Launches EV Charging and Powerway Network in South Africa. https://www.jaguar.co.za/electrification/jaguar-powerway.html.
Jenkins, K., McCauley, D., Heffron, R., Stephan, H. and Rehner, R. 2016. Energy Justice: A Conceptual Review. Energy Research & Social Science 11: 174–182.
CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kiira Motors Corporation. 2019a. Kiira EV Smack. http://kiiramotors.com/vehicles/kiira-ev-smack/.
Kiira Motors Corporation. 2019b. Kayoola Solar Bus. http://kiiramotors.com/vehicles/kayoola-solar-bus/.
Lazkano, I., Nøstbakken, L. and Pelli, M. 2017. From Fossil Fuels to Renewables: The Role of Electricity Storage. European Economic Review 99(C): 113–129
CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leal-Arcas, R., Peykova, M., Nalule, V. and Kara, P. 2019. Decarbonizing the Energy Sector. Michigan State Journal of Animal and Natural Resource Law.
Google Scholar
Mekonnen, A., Damte, A., Gujba, H., Gebreegziabher, Z., Mulugetta, Y. and Deribe, R. 2018. Fossil Fuels in Africa in the Context of Carbon Constrained Future—Presentation for ClimDeva. https://www.uneca.org/sites/default/files/uploaded-documents/Climate/CCDA1/ccda1_topic3.2_4._ccda-1_presentation_fossil_fuels_africa.pdf.
Mukheibir, P., 2017. Possible Climate Change Impacts on Large Hydroelectricity Schemes in Southern Africa. Journal of Energy in Southern Africa 18(1): 4–9.
CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nalule, V.R., 2018. Energy Poverty and Access Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of Regionalism. Springer.
Google Scholar
Niamir, L., Filatova, T., Voinov, A. and Bressers, H. 2018. Transition to Low-Carbon Economy: Assessing Cumulative Impacts of Individual Behavioral Changes. Energy policy 118: 325–345.
CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nopia. 2019. Home. https://nopiaride.com/.
Oxford Dictionary. 2019. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/transition.
Podobnik, B. 2006. Global Energy Shifts: Fostering Sustainability in a Turbulent Age. The Energy and Resources Institute, TERI Press.
Google Scholar
Ritchie, H. and Roser, M. 2019. Fossil Fuels—Empirical View. Our World in Data Report. https://ourworldindata.org/fossil-fuels.
Russell, R. 2018. Fossil Fuels Dominate African Energy Investment, September 4, 2018. https://www.dw.com/en/fossil-fuels-dominate-african-energy-investment/a-45290562.
SADC REESAP. 2012. Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Strategy and Action Plan.
Google Scholar
South African Development Community (SADC). 2015. SADC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Status Report 2015. http://www.ren21.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/REN21_SADC_Report_web.pdf.
South African Development Community (SADC). 2016. Energy Monitor 2016: Baseline study of the SADC Energy Sector. https://www.sadc.int/files/1514/7496/8401/SADC_Energy_Monitor_2016.pdf.
South African Development Community (SADC). n.d. Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Strategy & Action Plan for the Southern African Development Community. https://sadc-energy.sardc.net/attachments/article/351/Policy_brief_on_energy_efficiency.pdf. Page 35.
Silver, J. and Marvin, S. 2018. Examining Urban Africa’s Low Carbon and Energy Transition Pathways. In: Luque-Ayala, A., Marvin, S. and Bulkeley, H. (Eds.) Rethinking Urban Transitions: Politics in the Low Carbon City. Routledge, p. 46.
Google Scholar
Smil, V. 2010. Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects. ABC-CLIO.
Google Scholar
Sovacool, B.K. and Dworkin, M.H., 2015. Energy Justice: Conceptual Insights and Practical Applications. Applied Energy 142: 435–444.
CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stiles, G. and Murove, C. 2015. SADC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Status Report 2015. http://www.ren21.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/REN21_SADC_Report_web.pdf.
United Nations Foundation. 2019. Achieving Universal Energy Access. http://www.unfoundation.org/what-we-do/issues/energy-and-climate/clean-energy-development.html.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 2019. What is the Paris Agreement? https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/what-is-the-paris-agreement.
United States Agency for International Development (USAID). 2017a. Southern Africa Drought, Fact Sheet, January 2017. https://scms.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/southern_africa_dr_fs04_01-30-2017.pdf. Last visited on 8 May 2017.
United States Agency for International Development (USAID). 2017b. Examining Energy Efficiency Issues in Sub-Saharan Africa. https://www.usaid.gov/powerafrica/newsletter/dec2014/smarter-power-in-africa.
Willsher, K. 2018. Gilets Jaunes Protests in France to Continue Despite Fuel Tax U-turn. The Guardian Newspaper, Tuesday 4, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/04/french-government-to-suspend-fuel-tax-increase-say-reports.
Wood, G. 2018. Policy Risk, Politics and Low Carbon Energy. In: Considine, J.L. and Paik, K-W.(Eds.) The Handbook of Energy Politics. Edward Elgar.
Google Scholar
Worrall, L., Whitley, S. and Scott, A. 2018. Reforming Africa’s Fossil Fuel Subsidies. International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development. Bridges Africa 7(3). April 24, 2018. https://www.ictsd.org/bridges-news/bridges-africa/news/reforming-africa%E2%80%99s-fossil-fuel-subsidies.
Zambia Development Agency. 2014. Zambia Energy Sector Profile, September 2014. https://www.google.com/search?q=Zambia+Development+Agency%3A+Zambia+Energy+Sector+Profile%2C+September%2C+2014.&rlz=1C1NHXL_enGB699GB699&oq=Zambia+Development+Agency%3A+Zambia+Energy+Sector+Profile%2C+September%2C+2014.&aqs=chrome.69i57.565j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8.