Energy for Peace: Deploying Clean Energy to Reduce Climate Related Security Risks
By Dr. Linda Ogallo
With contributions from the IGAD Climate Change Technical Working Group
Despite contributing very little to climate change, African countries are among the most vulnerable to its impacts. Millions of people have been subjected to severe food and water insecurity because of accelerated extreme weather and climatic occurrences. Many of these adverse conditions are already being experienced by African communities (IPCC, 2023). Moreover, only 48% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa has access to energy (World Bank, 2020). In contrast, energy-poor countries produce extremely low emissions percapita and yet, their power supply is often too unreliable and expensive to enable job creation. 70% of the livelihood depends on rainfed agriculture (World Bank, 2000). Vulnerability in the Horn of Africa is further increased due to fragility and conflict (Maino & Emrullahu, 2022).
Climate Risks and their Threats to Peace and Security
In June 2023, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Heads of State endorsed the recommendations of the high-level inter-ministerial meeting at the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) to establish the IGAD Climate Security Coordination Mechanism and encouraged cooperation with the African Union (AU) and the UN to build the capacity of IGAD member states to anticipate, prevent and mitigate the outset of climate-induced conflict and displacement. This is aligned with the AU’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) decision in November 2021 (African Union, 2021), which acknowledged the risks of climate change, as a threat multiplier, to peace and security.
The impact of climate change and its security implications has been discussed globally at the United Nations General Assembly with overwhelming support, despite having no resolution. IGAD, in partnership with the UN Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa (UN OSE-HoA), laid out the available data on climate-related risks to peace and security, and described four pathways by which climate, peace, and security are interlinked, as perceived by the IGAD Member States. These pathways include (i) threats to food and water security, (ii) climate-induced mobility, (iii) historical grievances and cultural practices, and (iv) governance and fragility.
The case for Increased Modern Energy Access
Africa’s population is expected to increase by 100% to reach 2.5 billion by the year 2050 (Statista Research Department, 2022), thus requiring global agricultural production to double to meet the growing demand for food and alleviate hunger. The projected population represents a growing youth bulge that could be a robust labor force or, in the absence of basic social services and increased fragility, could lead to mass migration or increased conflict. 55.44 million people in the Greater Horn of Africa alone were faced with food crisis in 2022 (IGAD, 2023). Africa spends over 35 billion dollars annually on food imports (AfDB, 2015).
Improved energy access could help reduce food insecurity by enabling the use of modern agricultural technologies, such as irrigation systems and refrigeration, increasing agricultural productivity, reducing post-harvest losses, and facilitating efficient food processing and storage.
In Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), increased energy access can lead to improved livestock production, enhanced income opportunities, increased resilience to climate change, and better livelihoods for communities relying on livestock rearing. Energy access could improve livestock water access and the planting, harvesting, and processing of animal feed. Energy access in the ASALs could also strengthen the livestock value chain through cold storage facilities, processing plants, and improved veterinary services, just to mention a few. In the Keekonyokie slaughterhouse initiative, for example, Maasai pastoralists have found an innovative way up generate biogas from animal waste, improving their value chain and providing clean cooking options for pastoral communities.
Most African countries have set targets for achieving SDG 7. Various countries in the region reporting via the Voluntary National Reporting on SDGs, have reported making tremendous steps towards target 7.1 on universal access to modern energy. Modern industrialized societies consider energy a basic need (McCauley & Heffron , 2017). Increasing clean and renewable energy access in Sub-Saharan Africa creates an opportunity for small-scale subsistence farms to adopt mechanized farming. Deploying clean energy affords the continent the opportunity for adaptation while providing a low- emission pathway to development.
African countries have significant renewable energy sources, which will drive key development indicators such as health, education, food security, gender equality, climate change, and livelihood, reducing the region’s vulnerability to climate risks.
Poverty is a key driver of both conflict and adaptive capacity. The World Economic Forum defines energy poverty as the lack of access to sustainable modern energy services and products and energy security as continuous and uninterrupted energy availability. Energy poverty exacerbates poverty by restricting access to necessary services, impeding economic output, increasing reliance on inefficient and expensive energy sources, and maintaining a cycle of poverty and underdevelopment. Addressing energy poverty is critical to ensuring the long-term stability of the region. With the right laws, policies, and regulations, African governments should implement the regulations and policies in place to ensure energy access to rural areas, which will also boost investors.
Policies should create an enabling environment to provide clean, affordable, and reliable, energy particularly in marginalized areas. Energy security and affordability will increase the potential for job creation and works towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, which targets fair and reliable access to clean energy. This will, in turn, boost the growth of local economies and increase the community’s adaptive capacity, thus reducing resource-based conflict.
However, investing in fragile and conflict areas poses some challenges as most have poor infrastructure and limited capacity. The risk of disruption of power supply due to damage resulting from conflict is also high. Boosting investor confidence in areas where the security of their investment cannot be guaranteed is also a challenge, and therefore, financing clean energy in this context will require out-of-the-box thinking. Addressing energy poverty as a means of reducing the impact of climate change on human security will, therefore, require a coordinated approach between the arms of government. Collaboration is needed between those working on increasing energy access, those building adaptive capacity, those working on development, and security actors.
Conclusion
Increasing energy access can help improve peace by promoting economic development, enhancing social stability, reducing inequality, facilitating communication and education, fostering community trust and cooperation, and providing opportunities for conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction. Some benefits of energy access include:
- Socio-economic Development: Economic growth is linked to energy access that is both inexpensive and reliable as it encourages business development, industrial expansion, and employment creation.
- Improved services and infrastructure: Providing basic services such as healthcare, education, and transportation is linked to energy access.
- Conflict prevention and resolution: Access to dependable energy sources helps ease conflict and competition over limited resources, such as water or firewood. Power networks and pipelines, for example, sometimes cross many areas or nations, resulting in interdependencies and shared interests. Cooperation in energy projects and collaborative management can strengthen diplomatic ties, establish confidence, and incentivize peaceful international relations.
- Improved Communication and Information Sharing: Communication devices like mobile phones, radios, and the internet are made possible by having access to energy. Transparency, inclusion, and discussion are essential for developing trust, settling disputes, and promoting peaceful cohabitation. These qualities are promoted via access to information and communication channels.
African governments, however, must be careful to ensure that the transition to renewables does not generate new forms of poverty and inequality. Energy access must take center stage in the adaptation conversation if the region is to minimize the impact of climate change on conflict and insecurity. Therefore, the pursuit of climate justice must address energy poverty if any significant progress is to be made on adaptation in the region.
References
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