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MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

P9_TA(2024)0031

on EU development cooperation in support of access to energy in developing countries

(2023/2073(INI))

Committee on Development

PE753.463

European Parliament resolution of 17 January 2024 on EU development cooperation in support of access to energy in developing countries (2023/2073(INI))

– having regard to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 1 on poverty eradication, SDG 7 on ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, SDG 9 on industry and infrastructure, SDG 13 on climate action, and SDG 5 on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls,

C. whereas, according to the UN, as of mid-2023, approximately 733 million people worldwide, 80 % of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa, still do not have access to affordable, reliable, clean, high-quality energy;

D. whereas access to energy varies greatly across developing countries; whereas 52 % of the population of sub-Saharan Africa lives without access to electricity and it is the only region in the world where the proportion of people without electricity is increasing; whereas this figure conceals deep disparities, with only 30.430,4 % of the region’s rural population, compared to 80.780,7 % of its urban population, having regular access to energy; whereas education is recognised as one of the most essential components of poverty reduction; whereas access to electricity also supports quality education, but only 47 % of schools in sub-Saharan Africa have electricity;

E. whereas the lack of access to electricity in urban or peri-urban environments affects the populations of large irregular settlements, as well as forcibly displaced people and refugees; whereas even when there is access to electricity, the quality of services is often poor;

L. whereas women are greatly under-represented in the energy sector workforce worldwide, particularly in management roles; whereas engaging women as active agents in renewable energy solutions, in line with the EU’s GAP III, will improve sustainability and increase positive gender outcomes;

M. whereas traditional cooking fuels (solid biomass, kerosene and coal) are the main contributors to carbon emissions, deforestation and climate change and represent a threat to people’s health; whereas 2.42,4 billion people worldwide rely on these fuels, resulting in around 3.73,7 million premature deaths a year, with women and children being the most affected; whereas in 2019, Africa alone recorded 700 000 deaths from household air pollution;

N. whereas EU funding for clean cooking fuels is marginal; whereas even when clean cooking strategies exist, implementation is weak and little finance is available, so even modest gains are hard to obtain, and the adoption and sustained use of improved cookstoves remains low; whereas less than 10 % of people who lack access to clean cooking live in countries that have effective policies and sufficient funding to achieve universal access by 2030;

O. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy price increase have slowed progress on expanding access to clean cooking; whereas in developing countries that rely heavily on biomass for cooking, the EU should support alternatives to the consumption of wood and promote solutions such as solar cookers;

P. whereas the lack of access to clean cooking increases the time women and girls spend cooking; whereas this reinforces the unequal distribution of domestic work between men and women; whereas it is estimated that access to clean cooking would give women and girls an average of 1.51,5 more hours per day, which they could dedicate to leisure and/or education;

Q. whereas developing countries have an abundance of renewable energy sources, but often lack an enabling policy and regulatory framework and the necessary industrial and technological conditions for sustainable energy development and use; whereas they also face multiple challenges, such as climate change, over-indebtedness and rapid demographic growth, which all affect energy demand and consumption; whereas countries such as Namibia and Angola are involved in ambitious renewable energy projects; whereas some developing countries have made notable progress in the field of energy access, such as Senegal, Rwanda and Kenya; whereas the different contexts in each country need to be taken into account in order to achieve breakthroughs on energy access, with appropriate levels of political will and EU support;

R. whereas the EU has a long tradition of energy cooperation in Africa; whereas the EU together with its Member States provided the vast majority of Official Development Assistance financing for SDG 7 projects in Africa, amounting to EUR 13.813,8 billion between 2014 and 2020; whereas this is still not enough and more effort needs to be made; whereas an estimated 53 % of the disbursements were in the form of loans, but this additional debt reduces these countries’ ability to invest in the SDGs, including SDG 7; whereas in 2023, 21 low-income countries in Africa are in, or are at risk of, debt distress;

S. whereas financial flows for energy remain concentrated in a small group of countries, often leaving least developed countries behind; whereas in terms of geographical targeting, only three of the top ten beneficiaries are least developed countries, which shows that resources for expanding energy access and fighting energy poverty have not been allocated by order of priority;

20. Highlights the potential risks of land-use and water-use conflicts, particularly forced resettlement and expropriation for large-scale renewable energy installations; urges the EU, through its partnerships, to support governments of developing countries to:

a)(a) conduct independent and unbiased mapping of traditional land and water use, including for temporal grazing, indigenous cultural heritage and high-value biodiversity systems, prior to the development of renewable energy projects, with a view to encouraging sustainable land-use planning and assessing the environmental and social impact;

b)(b) seek free, prior and informed consent from the local communities, while guaranteeing their right to say no, and their rights to justice, redress and compensation or remuneration;

c)(c) define environmental and social criteria and responsible business practices in line with international regulatory frameworks and ensure their compliance through mechanisms for oversight and grievance;

d)(d) ensure the protection of climate activists;

e)(e) facilitate the sharing of knowledge and best practices between developing countries and regions that have successfully managed land-use conflicts related to energy projects;

21. Notes that for some large-scale green energy projects (such as wind and solar power), like those being set up in dryland areas, for example, adequate consultation with the customary land users (such as pastoralists) is essential; recalls that traditional communal rights have a rather weak legal status and are often not implemented, which can potentially increase the risk of land grabbing; calls, against this backdrop, for the EU and its partner countries to recognise and protect indigenous people’s rights to customary ownership and control of their lands and natural resources, as set out in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and International Labour Organization Convention 169, and to comply with the principle of free, prior and informed consent;

56. Calls for the EU and European development finance institutions to:

a)(a) direct investments into the distribution segment, in particular rural electrification, and to prioritise decentralised, small-scale and off-grid renewable energy systems when such solutions are more appropriate than grid extension for enabling rural populations to access electricity;

b)(b) coordinate investments among different institutions to maximise the impact and avoid the duplication of efforts;

c)(c) ensure that independent and unbiased human rights impact assessments are carried out and that all required governance, social and environmental safeguards and remedies are duly implemented and monitored, including the human rights and land tenure guidelines;

d)(d) ensure that local communities are included and properly informed throughout the entire project planning and delivery phases;

e)(e) implement and strictly apply the rights-based approach, providing effective complaint and redress mechanisms, in compliance with international standards of responsible business practices, and requiring impact studies for projects, particularly with regard to climate change, inequalities and the displacement of local populations, including in projects under the Global Gateway initiative;

f)(f) ensure that any dam projects with approved financing respect the World Commission on Dams’ guidelines;

g)(g) support local and regional electricity interconnection projects;

h)(h) offer technical support and capacity-building initiatives to empower developing countries to implement clean energy projects effectively;

57. Invites the Commission to provide disaggregated data on the amount of investments in energy access in order to track how much is allocated to SDG7, as well as to provide data on the key performance indicator ‘Renewable energy generation capacity installed (MW) with Union support’ identified under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe;

58. Welcomes the 2023conclusions COP28of Presidencythe programme2023 priorities,COP28, which are tocall, fast-trackfor the energyfirst time in history, for a transition away from fossil fuels and make a clear commitment to phasethe out1.5 greenhousedegree gastarget, emissionsto taking action towards achieving, at a global scale, a tripling of renewable energy capacity and a doubling of energy efficiency improvements by 20302030, and to globally promotepromoting a people-centred approach to climate finance and energy infrastructure projects;

59. Calls for the EU to play a key role in negotiations on mitigation measures for developing countries in order to combat the harmful effects of the use of polluting fuels, while promoting sustainable and clean energy development;

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60. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the European External Action Service and the European Investment Bank.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The world continues to advance towards sustainable energy targets but not fast enough. At the current pace, about 660 million people will still lack access to electricity and close to 2 billion people will still rely on polluting fuels and technologies for cooking by 2030. Rates of progress vary significantly across regions. Most Sub-Saharan countries are lagging behind to achieve universal access to energy. Africa is home to almost 18 % of the world’s population but accounts for less than 6 % of global energy use, with 600 million people or 43 % of the population without access to electricity. Most of those people live in rural areas and informal settlements or are displaced people or refugees. And even when there is access to electricity, the quality of services is often poor.

Sub-Saharan Africa comprises also 19 of the 20 countries with the lowest rate of access to clean cooking in the world. In 2022, people in Africa without access to clean cooking numbered 970 million. 64 % of Africans rely predominately on gathered wood together with agricultural and animal wastes as fuel for cooking. The lack of access to modern cooking in Africa has huge social and environmental consequences: health, deforestation, climate change. In addition, the lack of gender targets for clean energy is harming women and girls.

While the EU has a long tradition of energy cooperation in Africa – together with its Member States, provided EUR 13.8 billion or the vast majority of ODA financing for SDG7 projects in Africa between 2014 and 2020 –, it nevertheless suffers from some shortcomings. The energy transition is persistently underfunded in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Most of the disbursement took the form of loans, which raises some concerns of debt sustainability, taking into account that, in 2023, 21 low-income countries in Africa are in, or at risk of, debt distress. In addition, most projects financed by the EU are aimed at promoting large electricity generation infrastructures and the interconnection of transmission networks to create integrated electricity markets, which have little impact on promoting access to electricity for those who don’t have it. Last but not least, EU funding for modern cooking is marginal. It is estimated that in 2020, Team Europe dedicated less than 1 %.

Against this background, the rapporteur believes that some improvements shall be made in the remit of the Africa – EU Partnership. First of all, the EU and its Member States shall increase the amount of ODA oriented to the energy sector in Africa, prioritising grants over loans in countries at risk of debt distress. Likewise, in order to overcome energy poverty in Africa, EU financing should be reoriented towards countries with lower rates of access to electricity. More weight should be given to the distribution segment as a strategic element to promote universal access to energy. Gender should be mainstreamed throughout the design of EU development policies and programmes on energy in Africa, while access to clean cooking shall be a priority.

More broadly, the rapporteur believes that the EU and its Member States shall ensure Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development across the EU external energy agenda. On this line, the EU shall support developing countries to implement rights-based renewable energy regime, which is the pre-condition to achieve energy justice. To this effect, the principle of Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of all affected populations, their right to say no, to justice and redress as well as to compensation and remuneration, must be fully respected to ensure local acceptance and benefits for the local communities (in terms of jobs, training, access to electricity, etc.).

This is all the more important given that large-scale renewable energy projects, such as green hydrogen based on solar and wind power, hydroelectric power, present both opportunities and challenges in the Global South. For instance, while green hydrogen produced from renewable resources can potentially play a significant role in reaching the Paris climate goals, it may trigger land use conflicts and aggravate poverty.

Generally speaking, developing countries have an abundance of renewable energy sources, which provide a cheaper, more accessible, inclusive and reliable source of energy than fossil fuels. In Africa, which is endowed with many renewable energy sources, dryland areas are seen as excellent sites for generating wind and solar power. With the global energy transition, there is now a trend to use the huge potential of these areas to produce energy. Governments of developing countries use the narrative of “idle” lands or “degraded” land to justify these land acquisition. However, these areas have been used for generations by diverse pastoralist peoples as well as hunter-gatherers and crop farmers as common property resources. The ventures into renewables often ignore their land rights. This exacerbates climate injustice and the risk of “land grabbing for green energy”. To avoid it, the rapporteur believes it is essential to develop among others mapping of traditional land use (including temporal grazing), indigenous cultural heritage and high-value biodiversity systems, prior to the development of renewable energy projects, as well as to develop strong social and environmental standards, including oversight and grievance mechanisms to ensure their compliance. The rapporteur takes the view that the EU’s green hydrogen strategy in Africa shall fully reflect those concerns and be adapted accordingly.

Last but not least, the EU shall lead by example and stop financing fossil fuel projects in Africa. On the contrary, EU and European development finance institutions shall prioritise and step up their investments in decentralised, small-scale and off-grid renewable energy systems, which offer good solutions for remote communities, to achieve SDG7 and “leave no-one behind”.

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur declares that she has received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the report, until the adoption thereof in committee:

Entity and/or person

Researchers (Institute for Research in Technology at the University of Comillas)

Energy Cities

Climate Action Network Europe

ActionAid

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Date adopted

7.12.2023

Result of final vote

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–:

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13

1

6

Members present for the final vote

Barry Andrews, Hildegard Bentele, Stéphane Bijoux, Mercedes Bresso, Udo Bullmann, Catherine Chabaud, Christophe Clergeau, Charles Goerens, Mónica Silvana González, Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, György Hölvényi, Erik Marquardt, Eleni Stavrou, Miguel Urbán Crespo, Bernhard Zimniok

Substitutes present for the final vote

Caroline Roose, Carlos Zorrinho

Substitutes under Rule 209(7) present for the final vote

Marie Dauchy, Jarosław Duda, Aušra Maldeikienė

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

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