Envisioning ‘Just Transition’ to Clean Cooking Energy in Africa through the Paradigm of Integral Ecology: Perspectives from Uganda and Ghana

Abstract

The urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change effects, and the gradual exhaustion
of natural resources, have accelerated momentum on debates about energy transition from fossil-dependent to decarbonised fuels.
Central to this discourse is the idea of just energy transition (JET), which underpins the need to address the social, economic, health and environmental impact of energy transition on workers and affected local communities. However, the JET conversation in Sub-Saharan Africa has not adequately echoed the transition to clean cooking energy, where over 90% of households are still dependent on solid biomass or fossil fuels to meet their kitchen energy needs. Based on perspectives on the cooking energy landscapes in Uganda and Ghana, this paper seeks to address this gap by envisioning a just transition of clean cooking energy in Africa, through Pope Francis’ paradigm of integral ecology. This paper establishes poverty as both a driver of biomass fuel dependence and a
barrier to optimal adoption of clean cooking solutions in Africa. It also establishes three critical factors for JET in clean cooking in Africa: (a) compensation of communities affected by illegal charcoal production; (b) alternative economic opportunities for people directly involved in the charcoal value chain; (c) socio-economic factors, such as poverty, corruption, gender and cultural roles, which can counteract efforts to mobilise CCE uptake.