EU development cooperation in support of access to energy in developing countries
TA-9-2024-0031 · P9_TA(2024)0031 · PE753.463
Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.
Parliament's resolution on EU development cooperation in support of access to energy in developing countries sets out what the EU should do to promote universal access to clean energy, the energy transition, green hydrogen and more funding for a just transition.¶¶¶ It calls for EU support to renewable energy through policy, regulatory and technical help, technology transfer and partnerships that move away from fossil resources.¶ It asks the EU to make clean cooking a priority in energy partnerships and programming, and to make electrification a priority in cooperation with developing countries.¶¶ It urges the EU to ensure policy coherence for sustainable development, support rights-based renewable energy regimes and protect land, water and indigenous rights in energy projects.¶¶¶ It calls for EU support for green hydrogen value chains that bring equal social and economic benefits to exporting countries, with strong social and sustainability standards and water safeguards.¶¶¶ It calls for more Official Development Assistance for energy, prioritising grants over loans, debt-for-climate swaps and Global Gateway programmes for basic access to electricity and clean cooking.¶¶¶
Key points
- Recalls that universal, affordable and sustainable energy is a basic human right and a precondition for achieving the SDGs, and stresses that a net-zero future must go with economic diversification, green industrialisation and poverty reduction.¶
- Calls for the EU to foster access to renewable energy in developing countries through policy, regulatory and administrative support, capacity-building and technology transfers, and partnerships that move away from fossil resource exploitation.¶
- Encourages developing countries to commit to energy justice through regulatory frameworks ensuring local acceptance, community participation, land rights protection and adherence to human rights standards.¶
- Calls for a gender-specific approach to energy security, including women as active agents in the energy transition, gender-responsive energy projects and gender-disaggregated data on access to energy.¶¶
- Calls for the EU to make clean cooking a priority within its energy partnerships and multiannual indicative programmes, and to support financially and encourage national action in partner countries.¶¶
- Calls for the EU and its Member States to make electrification a priority in cooperation and partnerships with developing countries, investing in generation capacity especially in sub-Saharan Africa.¶
- Stresses the need to increase the humanitarian aid budget line in the revision of the multiannual financial framework to ensure energy provision in camps through green off-grid, mini-grid and renewable energy projects.¶
- Urges the EU and its Member States to ensure policy coherence for sustainable development across the EU external energy agenda, tailored to local specificities and needs.¶
- Calls for the EU to support developing countries in establishing regulatory frameworks guaranteeing energy distribution and universal service, and to report on progress in improving energy access and sector regulation.¶
- Urges the EU to support governments of developing countries to conduct independent mapping of land and water use, seek free, prior and informed consent, define environmental and social criteria, protect climate activists and share best practices.¶¶¶
- Calls for the EU and its Member States to stop financing fossil fuel projects and to lead by example under the 2021 Glasgow Statement on International Public Support for the Clean Energy Transition.¶
- Calls for the EU and its Member States to increase Official Development Assistance for the energy sector, especially under Heading 6 of the next multiannual financial framework and particularly in Africa, prioritising grants over loans.¶
Who is affected
- Developing countries, especially least developed countries and sub-Saharan Africa, which would receive EU support for energy access and transition.¶¶¶
- Women and girls, who are disproportionately affected by energy poverty and would benefit from clean cooking and inclusion in the energy transition.¶¶¶
- Indigenous and local communities, whose land and water rights and free, prior and informed consent must be respected in energy projects.¶¶
- The Commission, which is asked to report on energy access progress, set up an inclusive governance framework and increase Global Gateway programmes.¶¶¶
- EU Member States, which are urged to increase funding, stop financing fossil fuel projects and ratify ILO Convention 169.¶¶¶
Figures and deadlines
- approximately 733 million people worldwide still do not have access to affordable, reliable, clean, high-quality energy as of mid-2023¶
- 52 % of the population of sub-Saharan Africa lives without access to electricity¶
- only 30,4 % of sub-Saharan Africa's rural population, compared to 80,7 % of its urban population, has regular access to energy
- only 47 % of schools in sub-Saharan Africa have electricity
- about 660 million people worldwide will not have access to electricity in 2030 and around one billion will lack access to clean cooking unless appropriate action is taken¶
- women and girls spend on average up to 18 hours a week collecting cooking fuels¶
- 2,4 billion people worldwide rely on traditional cooking fuels, resulting in around 3,7 million premature deaths a year¶
- the EU and its Member States provided EUR 13,8 billion in Official Development Assistance financing for SDG 7 projects in Africa between 2014 and 2020¶
Legal basis: Article 208 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; Articles 3(5) and 21 of the Treaty on European Union¶¶