The Role of International Energy Law in Addressing Energy Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This study explores how international energy law can help tackle the issue of energy poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa—a region rich in energy resources but still facing major challenges in providing reliable and affordable energy access. Although the area has significant reserves of fossil fuels and strong potential for renewable energy, it remains the most energy-poor region in the world. Using a qualitative and descriptive approach, the paper reviews scholarly research, legal texts, and policy documents to assess how international legal can support fair energy distribution and promote sustainable growth. It discusses different ways of understanding energy poverty, from economic and social views to justice-oriented frameworks and evaluates the relevance of major legal instruments such as Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7), the International Energy Charter (IEC), and the African Energy Commission (AFREC). The analysis shows that while these legal frameworks provide valuable guidance, they are often inconsistent or poorly applied in practice, especially in Sub Sahara Africa settings. Overcoming energy poverty in the region will require stronger legal systems, better cooperation between countries, more inclusive policymaking, and focused investments in small-scale, sustainable energy projects. This paper adds to the wider discussion on energy justice and international law by showing both the opportunities and limits of legal solutions in addressing energy inequality.

Keywords

• Energy Poverty
• Sub-Saharan Africa
• International Energy Law

Kaynakça

1. Aalto, P., Dusseault, D., Kennedy, M. D., & Kivinen, M. (2014). Russia’s energy relations in Europe and the Far East: Towards a social structurationist approach to energy policy formation. Journal of International Relations and Development, 17(1), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1057/jird.2012.29
2. African Energy Commission (AFREC). (2001). African energy commission. https://au-afrec.org/overview (Erişim tarihi: 1 Ocak 2025)
3. Agoundedemba, M., Kim, C. K., & Kim, H.-G. (2023). Energy status in Africa: Challenges, progress and sustainable pathways. Energies, 16(23), 7708. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16237708
4. Allen, R. (2006). Explaining the British Industrial Revolution from the perspective of global wage and price history. Proceedings of the British Academy, 167(1), 199–222.
5. Amir, M., & Khan, S. Z. (2022). Assessment of renewable energy: Status, challenges, COVID-19 impacts, opportunities, and sustainable energy solutions in Africa. Energy and Built Environment, 3(3), 348–362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbenv.2021.03.002
6. African Union (AU). (2017, March 13). he first ordinary session of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Transport, Intercontinental and Interregional Infrastructures, Energy and Tourism. https://au.int/en/newsevents/20170313/first-ordinary-session-african-union-specialized-technical-committee-transport (Erişim tarihi: 5 Ocak 2025)
7. African Union (AU). (2018). The African Energy Information System (AEIS) | AFREC - African Energy Commission. https://afrec.au.int/en/pillars/aeis (Erişim tarihi: 5 Ocak 2025)
8. African Union (AU). (2019, March 21). African Energy Commission (AFREC) continues building the capacity of the African Union member states on energy statistics. https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20190321/african-energy-commission-afrec-continues-building-capacity-african-union (Erişim tarihi: 1 Ocak 2025)

9. Baker, L. (2023). New frontiers of electricity capital: Energy access in sub-Saharan Africa. New Political Economy, 28(2), 206–222. https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2022.2084524
10. Banerjee, S. G., Bhatia, M., Azuela, G. E., Jaques, I., Sarkar, A., Portale, E., Bushueva, I., Angelou, N., & Inon, J. G. (2013). Global tracking framework. World Bank.
11. Boardman, B. (1991). Fuel poverty: From cold homes to affordable warmth. Belhaven Press.
12. Bouzarovski, S. (2014). Energy poverty in the European Union: Landscapes of vulnerability. WIREs Energy and Environment, 3(3), 276–289. https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.89
13. Brew-Hammond, A., Mensah, G. S., & Amponsah, O. (2014). Energy poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: Poverty amidst abundance. In A. Halff, B. K. Sovacool, & J. Rozhon (Eds.), Energy poverty: Global challenges and local solutions (Chapter 15). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199682362.003.0015
14. Chirambo, D. (2016). Moving past the rhetoric: Policy considerations that can make Sino-African relations to improve Africa’s climate change resilience and the attainment of the sustainable development goals. Advances in Climate Change Research, 7(4), 253–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accre.2016.11.002
15. Clark, R., Reed, J., & Sunderland, T. (2018). Bridging funding gaps for climate and sustainable development: Pitfalls, progress, and potential of private finance. Land Use Policy, 71, 335–346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.12.013
16. Day, R., Walker, G., & Simcock, N. (2016). Conceptualising energy use and energy poverty using a capabilities framework. Energy Policy, 93, 255–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.03.019
17. ECLAC. (2016). The 2030 agenda and the sustainable development goals: An opportunity for Latin America and the Caribbean. Goals, targets and global indicators. United Nations. https://repositorio.cepal.org/handle/11362/40156
18. Fischetti, C. (2022). Energy poverty and the green transition in Sub-Saharan Africa [Master’s thesis, European University Institute School of Transnational Governance]. Cadmus. https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/74786/Fischetti_2022_STG_MA.pdf
19. Fraser, N. (1995). From redistribution to recognition? Dilemmas of justice in a ‘post-socialist’ age. New Left Review, 1(212), 68–93.
20. Gross. (2020). Why are fossil fuels so hard to quit? Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/why-are-fossil-fuels-so-hard-to-quit/ (Erişim tarihi: 9 Şubat 2025)
21. Harris, L. (2024, December 13). African electricity debate pits speed against scale. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/86e3116b-e397-4b97-bb30-5180cc821979
22. Harvey, F. (2025, March 18). Countries must bolster climate efforts or risk war, Cop30 chief executive warns. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/18/countries-must-bolster-climate-efforts-or-risk-war-cop30-chief-executive-warns
23. Heffron, R. J. (2021). Energy law: An introduction. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77521-6
24. Hunter, T. S., & Anchustegui, I. H. (2020). Introduction to the Routledge Handbook of Energy Law. In Routledge Handbook of Energy Law (pp. 1–9). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429450891-2
25. International Court of Justice (ICJ). (1945). Statute of the Court of Justice. https://www.icj-cij.org/statute
26. International Energy Agency (IEA). (2022). World Energy Outlook 2022. https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2022 (Erişim tarihi: 20 Aralık 2025)
27. International Energy Agency (IEA). (2023, January 25). Strong energy foundations support Senegal’s ambitious plans to ramp up sustainable economic growth. https://www.iea.org/news/ (Erişim tarihi: 1 Şubat 2025)
28. International Energy Agency (IEA). (2024a). World Energy Outlook 2024. https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2024 (Erişim tarihi: 5 Ocak 2025)
29. International Energy Agency (IEA). (2024b, November 15). Electricity access continues to improve in 2024—After first global setback in decades – Analysis. https://www.iea.org/ (Erişim tarihi: 4 Nisan 2025)
30. Nochevnik, D. (2015). International Energy Charter: The emergence of the new global energy governance architecture. European Energy Review. https://www.elektormagazine.com/news/international-energy-charter-the-emergence-of-the-new-global-energy-governance-architecture
31. IEC. (2015). International Energy Charter: Agreed text for adoption in The Hague at the Ministerial Conference on the International Energy Charter, 20 May 2015. https://www.energycharter.org/fileadmin/DocumentsMedia/Legal/IEC_EN.pdf
32. IMF. (2024). Regional economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, October 2024: Reforms amid great expectations. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/SSA/Issues/2024/10/25/regional-economic-outlook-for-sub-saharan-africa-october-2024
33. Jong, E., & Vijge, M. (2021). From millennium to sustainable development goals: Evolving discourses and their reflection in policy coherence for development. Earth System Governance, 7, 100087. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esg.2020.100087
34. Karim, M. E., Munir, A. B., Karim, M. A., Muhammad-Sukki, F., Abu-Bakar, S. H., Sellami, N., Bani, N. A., & Hassan, M. Z. (2018). Energy revolution for our common future: An evaluation of the emerging international renewable energy law. Energies, 11(7), Article 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/en11071769
35. Mathiesen, K. (2024, November 23). Climate summit approves divisive $300B deal. POLITICO. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/23/new-300-billion-deal-climate-talks-00191241
36. Morrissey, J. (2017). The energy challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa: A guide for advocates and policy makers (Part 2: Addressing energy poverty). Oxfam Research Backgrounder Series, 1–79.
37. Nordtveit, E. (2020). International energy law in perspective: The relationship between national and international energy law. In Routledge Handbook of Energy Law. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429450891-3
38. Nwafor, O. (2024). Decentralized energy systems: A pathway to bridging the energy deficit in Sub-Saharan Africa. Africa Research & Impact Network. https://www.arin-africa.org/2025/01/21/
39. Philips, M. (2024, December 18). Nigerians press for solar jobs and electricity, with little success. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/nigeria-solar-grid-electricity-jobs-outages
40. Pimm, S. L. (2007). Africa: Still the ‘Dark Continent’. Conservation Biology, 21(3), 567–569.
41. United Nations (2015). Goal 7 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal7
42. United Nations (2016). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development | Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda
43. United Nations (2022). What is renewable energy? United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-renewable-energy
44. United Nations (2023). Commodities at a glance: Special issue on access to energy in Sub-Saharan Africa. United Nations. https://doi.org/10.18356/9789210024808
45. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, & African Development Bank. (2023). Policy briefs in support of the UN High-Level Political Forum 2023: Advancing SDG7 in Africa. United Nations. https://repository.uneca.org/handle/10855/49976
46. Walker, D. (2012). Fuel poverty as injustice: Integrating distribution, recognition and procedure in the struggle for affordable warmth. Energy Policy, 49, 69–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.01.044
47. Warner, K. J., & Jones, G. A. (2018). Energy and population in Sub-Saharan Africa: Energy for four billion? Environments, 5(10), Article 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments5100107