Human rights as legal basis for increased access to renewable energy in Africa

Abstract

Africa is rich in renewable resources and could benefit from an increased use of renewable energy, such as wind and solar energy. These energy sources offer a clean alternative to traditional sources of energy, particularly to fossil fuels. The adoption of the exploitation of renewable energy sources for electricity generation in Africa would signal a shift to low-carbon development in the continent. Despite the abundance of renewable energy sources on the continent, Africa is energy-poor. One manifestation of this poverty is a lack of access to conventional modern energy sources. Without access to conventional modern energy, communities are dependent on traditional biomass such as wood, charcoal and animal waste for cooking and heating. Renewable energy is listed as a modern energy source but its exploitation in Africa is meagre, and this contributes to developmental challenges in Africa. The problem of access to energy is more pronounced in rural areas. The solution to the African continent’s dilemma should be embodied in regional law and policy as mandated by the Constitutive Act of the African Union 2000. The Constitutive Act provides in Article 3(k) for the promotion of co-operation in "all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African peoples", and in Article 3(l) for the "coordination and harmonisation of the policies of the existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the African Union". To this end, regional initiatives aimed at increasing access to renewable energy were taken. Due to the fact that renewable energy technologies are capital intensive, inadequate regulatory and institutional environments in the African Union further impede the development of the renewable energy industry, thereby undermining the prospect of the fulfilment of the human rights enshrined in the African Charter on Human and People's Rights 1986 (Banjul Charter). The challenge to the full realisation of these rights posed by the prevalence of energy poverty in Africa suggests the need for a normative response from AU law and policy-makers. This normative response should, in the opinion of the author, find its legal basis in existing human rights, specifically those contained in articles 22 and 24 of the Banjul Charter. This hold prospects of simultaneously addressing the twin issues facing the African continent, these are: under-development and environmental degradation posed by energy poverty. This approach has its limitations but it is worth considering. The question posed in this study, therefore, is how human rights can serve as a legal basis for increasing access to renewable energy in Africa