The chicken or the egg : which comes first, addressing energy poverty or facilitating energy transitions?

Abstract

Nearly 1 billion people across the globe do not have access to electricity in their homes and critically, sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 75% of this number. For this region, there is an urgent need to (a) deal conclusively with the issue of energy poverty which has significant implications on both social and economic development and (b) deal with the severe climate change vulnerabilities which require increased access to modern energy. Globally, Greenhouse gas emission (GHG) levels continue to increase despite experts’ warning against the rate at which the climate is changing and the far-reaching impact of these changes. Simultaneously, there is an increasingly apparent tension between the needs of the planet and the goals of individual countries; Countries in the developing world contend that climate change cannot become a hindrance to their development while countries in the developed world appear to want to continue to benefit from and further strengthen their political and economic interests many of which are couched in their (continued) exploitation of fossil fuel resources. This paper (a) examines the concepts of energy poverty and the energy transition; (b) argues for a contextual definition and application of the terms; and (c) tackles the necessity and justification for climate finance in the sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) region. The paper concludes by suggesting that the unequal responses by countries to the current climate condition betray a lack of common understanding regarding the climate state of play, create unjust double-standards and impose objectionable pathways towards energy transitions.