Accelerating Green Energy Transition in Africa Through Regional Integration

This policy brief argues that regional integration via the AfCFTA and a strategic partnership with the European Union are essential to overcoming Africa's energy deficit and financing gaps. It highlights that while Africa has vast renewable potential, the transition is stalled by a lack of technical capacity, fossil fuel subsidies, and fragmented markets. The authors recommend shifting EU aid from bilateral to regional modalities and prioritizing the local adaptation of green technologies.

• Africa faces a severe energy deficit, with over 600 million people lacking electricity and 900 million lacking clean cooking energy. Access varies significantly by region, ranging from 1% in South Sudan to 100% in North African countries such as Egypt, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia.
• The transition to green energy in Africa is hindered by three primary constraints: a lack of finance, requiring an estimated average annual investment of $70 billion over 15 years; deficiencies in human and technical capacity across the skill spectrum; and domestic political factors, including fossil fuel subsidies and cross-border disputes over shared resources like the Nile river.
• The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can accelerate the green energy transition by consolidating fragmented markets to improve access to funding and technology, scaling investment in regional infrastructure, and establishing dispute resolution mechanisms to build trust between member states.
• Regional power pools in Africa currently have a combined installed capacity of 33.8 GW, with 28% produced via renewables. However, their effectiveness has been limited by underinvestment in transmission infrastructure, a lack of market liberalization, and the political dominance of national power providers.
• The proposed Europe-Africa partnership should shift from bilateral development assistance toward regional support to better address infrastructure gaps in power pools. It should also prioritize institutional knowledge sharing on transitioning from fossil fuels and the local adaptation of green technologies to ensure they meet African needs, noting that solar energy remains the least developed despite high endowment.

APA

Adeniran, A., & Onyekwena, C. (2020). Accelerating Green Energy Transition in Africa Through Regional Integration. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Policy-Brief-216-adeniran-onyekwena.pdf

Chicago

Adeniran, Adedeji, and Chukwuka Onyekwena. Accelerating Green Energy Transition in Africa Through Regional Integration. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2020. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Policy-Brief-216-adeniran-onyekwena.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Adeniran |first1=Adedeji |last2=Onyekwena |first2=Chukwuka |title=Accelerating Green Energy Transition in Africa Through Regional Integration |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=September 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Policy-Brief-216-adeniran-onyekwena.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{adeniran2020accelerating, author = {Adeniran, Adedeji and Onyekwena, Chukwuka}, title = {{Accelerating Green Energy Transition in Africa Through Regional Integration}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Policy-Brief-216-adeniran-onyekwena.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }