EXPERTS WARN AGAINST AFRICA'S GREEN ENERGY TRANSITION RISKS

Legal experts, energy policy analysts and climate advocates have warned that Africa's transition to clean energy could replicate the continent's long history of extractive economic practices unless stronger accountability and governance mechanisms are put in place.

The warning was issued during a high-level policy dialogue on regional energy governance currently taking place in Gaborone, Botswana, where participants argued that Africa's just energy transition is increasingly being driven by investors, development partners and international financial institutions rather than the needs of African citizens.

The experts said the continent's clean energy agenda is being approached largely as a financing and technology challenge, while critical issues of accountability, transparency and public participation remain unresolved.

They expressed concern that governments, multinational corporations, development finance institutions and private investors continue to make ambitious commitments on energy access and decarbonisation without clearly defining who is responsible for delivering on those promises or the consequences when targets are not met.

A key issue raised during the discussions was the growing influence of international investment law, particularly Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions contained in more than 2,500 bilateral investment treaties worldwide.

Speaking on the theme, "Promises Made, Promises Kept? The Case for Rigorous Just Transition Accountability in Regional Energy Initiatives,"

 Director of the Africa Coalition for Sustainable Energy Access and the Just Transition Platform, Eugene Nforngwa, said the current legal framework overwhelmingly protects investors while offering little or no remedy for communities adversely affected by energy projects.

According to him, fossil fuel companies have secured arbitration awards worth tens of billions of dollars globally, while governments increasingly face costly legal challenges for introducing policies aimed at phasing out carbon-intensive infrastructure.

He cited disputes involving governments in Europe and North America over coal phase-out programmes and energy subsidy reforms as examples of how investor protections can constrain climate policy.

Also speaking, Principal of Lex Navitas and the Just Transition Platform, Dr. Tedd Moya, presented a paper titled "Closing the Loopholes: Instrumentalising Accountability in the Just Energy Transition." He warned that legal protections traditionally associated with fossil fuel investments are now extending into renewable energy sectors, including green hydrogen, critical minerals and carbon markets.

According to Moya, the trend risks locking Africa's clean energy transition into another extractive model that prioritises foreign investment over local development.

Participants also examined major renewable energy projects across the continent, particularly large-scale green hydrogen developments and renewable energy export corridors.

They noted that many of the projects are primarily designed to supply industrialised markets, especially in Europe, rather than address Africa's persistent electricity deficit.

Presentations at the meeting indicated that nearly two-thirds of Africa's proposed large-scale renewable energy capacity is linked to green hydrogen production, much of which is intended for export.

The experts expressed concern that existing legal frameworks do not require meaningful community consultation, guarantees for domestic electricity access or binding benefit-sharing arrangements before land and water resources are allocated to such projects.

They warned that projects could fully comply with international investment standards while surrounding communities remain without access to electricity.

The meeting also reviewed major regional and international initiatives, including the Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs), Power Africa, Mission 300 and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP).

While acknowledging that these programmes have mobilised billions of dollars in financing commitments aimed at expanding electricity access across Africa, participants argued that their accountability mechanisms remain weak and are largely designed to satisfy donor reporting requirements rather than public oversight.

Power Africa, in particular, came under scrutiny over concerns about transparency and the methods used to measure improvements in electricity access.

The experts further questioned the growing use of executive-led energy compacts and monitoring units, arguing that many reform programmes are designed by multilateral development banks and philanthropic organisations with limited legislative oversight.

They warned that governments could commit to far-reaching reforms involving electricity pricing, utility restructuring and private-sector participation without adequate parliamentary approval or public consultation.

National Coordinator of the Nigeria Labour Congress Programme on Climate Change, Green Jobs and Just Transition, Echezona Asuzu, also raised concerns over the transparency of country selection processes and the criteria used to determine reform priorities under international energy partnerships.

A recurring concern throughout the discussions was the possibility that Africa could emerge as a major exporter of renewable energy while millions of its citizens continue to lack reliable electricity.

Participants pointed to plans for large-scale green hydrogen corridors linking Africa to Europe, arguing that such projects risk reinforcing historical patterns of resource extraction by dedicating African land, water and infrastructure to meeting foreign energy demands.

To prevent this outcome, the experts called for comprehensive reforms of the legal and regulatory framework governing energy investments across the continent.

Among the recommendations were the renegotiation or termination of outdated bilateral investment treaties, the introduction of climate and public-interest exceptions in investment agreements, and stronger domestic legislation requiring community consent, local benefit-sharing and minimum domestic energy access obligations.

They also advocated mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence requirements for multinational energy investors, greater reliance on regional courts and human rights institutions to enforce accountability, and the use of counterclaims in investor arbitration to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate-related damage.

The participants concluded that without urgent legal and institutional reforms, Africa risks replacing one extractive development model with another under the banner of the global green energy transition.