AU-EU Partnership to Promote Sustainable Energy Transitions

The policy brief examines the opportunities and challenges of a sustainable energy transition partnership between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU). It highlights Africa's vast renewable potential and the EU's need for clean energy, while cautioning against post-colonial rhetoric and the economic risks for African fossil-fuel-dependent nations. The authors recommend a joint vision focused on infrastructure investment, technology transfer, and job creation to ensure a just transition.

• Africa faces a critical energy gap, with approximately 600 million people lacking electricity and 900 million lacking access to clean cooking, which represents the lowest coverage of energy access globally.
• The transition to renewable energy offers significant development benefits for Africa, including the potential to meet a quarter of its energy needs from clean sources by 2030, improving air quality, and protecting ecosystems.
• Power-to-X technologies, such as the production of green hydrogen, present opportunities for African countries to generate revenue through renewable energy exports to the EU, though the authors argue that expanding domestic electricity access must be prioritised first.
• Fossil-fuel-dependent African nations face severe economic risks during the transition; for example, fossil fuel exports account for roughly 95% of total export revenues in Algeria, Angola, and Nigeria.
• The EU's approach to the Green Deal may be perceived as post-colonial or lacking legitimacy because Africa's cumulative CO2 emissions are insignificant compared to those of the EU.
• To ensure a just transition and gain African buy-in, the EU should provide tailor-made incentives, including blended finance for green infrastructure, technology transfer, and investments in labour-intensive sectors to create jobs.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2020). AU-EU Partnership to Promote Sustainable Energy Transitions. https://saiia.org.za/research/au-eu-partnership-to-promote-sustainable-energy-transitions/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. AU-EU Partnership to Promote Sustainable Energy Transitions. 2020. https://saiia.org.za/research/au-eu-partnership-to-promote-sustainable-energy-transitions/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=AU-EU Partnership to Promote Sustainable Energy Transitions |date=25 September 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/au-eu-partnership-to-promote-sustainable-energy-transitions/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2020aueu, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{AU-EU Partnership to Promote Sustainable Energy Transitions}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/au-eu-partnership-to-promote-sustainable-energy-transitions/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }