Resources
15 October 2026
A just energy transition
Position paper
In Sub-Saharan Africa, 660 million people still lack access to electricity and nearly 1 billion rely on polluting cooking solutions. The energy sector accounts for nearly 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet Africa attracts less than 2% of global renewable energy investment.
Growing climate impacts, geopolitical disruptions, demographic growth and supply chain challenges have exposed the vulnerability of fossil fuel-dependent systems, and underline the need for low-carbon energy systems.
For Enabel, a just energy transition is about ensuring that energy investments simultaneously support universal access to sustainable energy, accelerate low-carbon solutions and drive sustainable economic development. Since 2011, the agency implements energy programmes in Mozambique, Rwanda, the DR Congo, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda as well as in Palestine and Ukraine – spanning rural electrification, productive uses of energy, clean cooking and mobilising climate finance. In Namibia, it supports green hydrogen and industrial corridor initiatives.
This position paper sets out Enabel’s systemic approach, linking energy systems with governance, economic development, market development and social inclusion.