Sittings · Document
Follow up to the European Parliament non-legislative resolution on EU development cooperation in support of access to energy in developing countries
Rapporteur: Caroline ROOSE (Greens/EFA / FR)
Reference numbers: 2023/2073 (INI) / A9-0441/2023 / P9_TA(2024)0031
Date of adoption of the resolution: 17 January 2024
Competent Parliamentary Committee: Committee on Development (DEVE)
Brief analysis/ assessment of the resolution and requests made in it:
The European Parliament resolution emphasizes the fundamental human right to universal, affordable, and sustainable energy and its role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It calls for the EU to provide and facilitate public and private financing to support a net-zero carbon future and the development of renewables. The resolution stresses the need for stable energy supplies and affordable prices, particularly in developing countries, and calls for the EU to foster access to renewable energy through policy support and technology transfers. It also addresses the impact of energy poverty on women and girls, the health and environmental consequences of household fuelwood emissions, and the need for access to clean cooking fuels.
The resolution highlights the crucial role of green hydrogen in decarbonizing the energy system and emphasizes the need for policy coherence for sustainable development. Furthermore, it calls for increased Official Development Assistance devoted to the energy sector and support for developing countries in adapting to climate change. Overall, the resolution urges the EU to prioritize renewable energy and support the energy transition in developing countries while ensuring social and environmental sustainability, human rights, and policy coherence for sustainable development.
Response to the requests and overview of the action taken, or intended to be taken, by the Commission:
The Commission agrees that increasing access and electrification based on renewable energies is a key element to promote a sustainable and just energy transition (paragraphs 3, 13, 18 and 38). Through the Global Gateway strategy and using a Team Europe approach, the EU will continue working towards ensuring access to clean and affordable energy, aiming that access to sustainable energy meet growing energy demand, worldwide, in line with e Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 7.
The Commission is determined to mainstream gender equality in the energy sector, and in general in all development actions, and to incorporate access to clean cooking as a priority at national, regional and continental level (paragraphs 7 and 11). Significant progress has been made as evidenced by the specific programmes designed to foster women’s involvement in the energy value chain, increase their technical and business capacity and strengthen their role as energy entrepreneurs through several ongoing actions in the framework of the African Green Energy Initiative (AEGEI).
The Commission is committed to integrating human rights, including the rights of indigenous peoples, into all aspects of the EU’s external policies, cooperation and trade as well as into its political dialogues with third countries and regional organisations, and at multilateral fora such as the United Nations. The Commission’s rights-based approach to development, encompassing all human rights, is a key vehicle of integration and support to indigenous peoples in external action. Through the third EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024 the EU has renewed its commitment to supporting indigenous peoples by promoting their participation in relevant human rights and development processes and by upholding the principle to free, prior and informed consent in all decisions affecting them in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Commission is committed to ensuring, in a meaningful and systematic way, the full participation and free and prior informed consent of indigenous people in the identification and formulation of all programmes (paragraph 21).
The Commission is determined to improve the transparency of reporting and commits to report on progress achieved in energy access and development of enabling environment, as evidenced by the ongoing activity to improve Global Europe Results Framework (GERF). During the 2014-2020 period, almost 30 million people gained new or improved access to energy thanks to EU’s funded programmes, most of them in Africa, and more than 31,000 MW of renewable energy capacity was installed. Currently the Commission is gathering consolidated data from all EU’s interventions worldwide (paragraph 19).
The Commission is determined to promote and share the values of the European Green Deal in its international partnerships (paragraphs 28 and 33) and has made significant progress to support partner countries to embark on a green transition of their own (in line with the implementation of the Paris Agreement), as evidenced by the fact that all the 33 Global Gateway power generation projects make use only of renewable energy. Accelerating the global energy transition is a priority for the EU: in 2023, besides many ongoing or newly launched interventions focusing on this, the EU was involved in the implementation of four distinct Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) with South Africa, Vietnam, Indonesia and Senegal, striving to deliver support and ambition for just energy transitions.
The comprehensive approach of the EU deploys policy, legal, regulatory, financial and technical support to create enabling environment and maximise the benefits of deploying the green hydrogen value chain in developing countries, as evidenced by the fact that there are already 6 Global Gateway hydrogen flagship projects worldwide (paragraph 37). Renewable hydrogen is expected to play a key role in energy security and in decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors, with mutual benefits for the EU and our partner countries. The EU is active in Latin America, Africa and Asia. One example is the Green Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap of Kenya, which has been developed under the EU Global Technical Assistance Facility for Sustainable Energy and was launched at the Africa Climate Summit in September 2023. Other examples of Team Europe initiatives under the Global Gateway on renewable hydrogen in Africa, include projects in Mauritania, Namibia and South Africa. Also, in 2023 the EU signed memoranda of understanding with Argentina and Uruguay to develop cooperation on renewable hydrogen.
The Commission is determined to streamline access to financing for a just energy transition for developing countries and to provide innovative solutions to speed up the green transition (paragraph 51). In this context, the Commission mandated a High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) to explore innovative ways to mobilise private capital for sustainable investments in low and middle-income countries (LMIC), with the final report and policy recommendations due in early 2024. As part of its work, the HLEG has looked into the potential and limitations of debt-for-nature/climate swaps. The Commission will analyse the recommendations of the HLEG on this instrument and assess its further potential. In November 2023, the Commission approved a EUR 150 million guarantee from the European Investment Bank to the Government of Barbados for a debt swap operation that is fully in line with Global Gateway priorities. Lessons from this operation will also be considered when assessing the potential of future debt swaps.
The Commission agrees with the need to increase Official Development Assistance devoted to the energy sector in African countries with the lowest access rates, implementing financial mechanisms tailored to the circumstances, and climate change adaptation (paragraphs 53and 49).
The Commission agrees that directing investments into the distribution segment, in particular rural electrification, and prioritising 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, is a key element to achieve universal access by 2030, and is determined to coordinate investments among different actors, as evidenced by Team Europe Initiatives in the partner countries (paragraph 56).
The Commission is committed to human rights risk assessments and has established an internal Risk Management Framework for all third countries receiving EU development assistance. The framework pays particular attention to political risk, which encompasses human rights and fundamental freedoms, Equality, inclusion and non-discrimination, and Democracy and Rule of Law. Furthermore, the Commission adopted on 30/06/2021 an updated toolbox on the ‘Human Rights-Based Approach’ (SWD(2021) 179 final). It applies to identification and formulation of actions as well as to their implementation, including monitoring and evaluation. These monitoring tools allow for the Commission to put on hold any EU intervention in case of serious concerns over fundamental values, and to suspend or terminate financing agreements in case the partner country fails to observe the principles of international law, the principles of democracy, rule of law, good governance, or respect to human rights and fundamental freedoms (paragraph 56).