During the 2nd Africa-EU Joint Experts Group Meeting, Brussels 18-19 June Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP), the process of developing the Road Map was summarized and the final draft of the Road Map was discussed.
The initial draft published in April 2009 dealt with the following key issues:
Current situation and objectives for energy in Africa and Europe
African and European countries face the challenge of assuring secure, reliable energy services in the coming decades. Interruption of some form of energy, tension in oil markets, changing rainfall patterns, internal technical, managerial and financial problems and climate change are putting increasing pressure on energy sector development in Europe and Africa.
Alongside the energy security challenge, many countries in Africa face the additional challenge of extending access to modern energy services and to safe and sustainable cooking fuels to their entire population. Indeed, insufficient energy infrastructure and lack of access – to electricity, to transport fuels, or to cooking – constitute a major barrier to sustainable development objectives, as expressed in national plans as well as in the Millennium Development Goals.
African Regional Economic Communities have set ambitious targets with respect to access to modern energy. Meeting these targets will require both infusion of private and public resources, and use of innovative models to make energy service provision economically viable, in poor sparsely populated areas.
In addition to the security and access issues, the energy sector presents opportunities and challenges for all areas of sustainable development in Africa and Europe.
• Economic progress: Energy service activities can be a major source of jobs, national value added or export revenues. On the other hand, energy imports (oil, gas, electricity) are among the major imports for a majority of countries, and can cause balance of payments deficits.
• Social progress: Access to energy services could contribute to improving essential services such as health, education, and water supply.
• Protection of the environment: While energy sector activities can contribute to protection of the environment (notably through sustainable management of water and forest resources), unsustainable energy practices can be a cause of environmental degradation: deforestation, indoor and outdoor air pollution, and climate change.
Current trends in partner regions
Given the importance of the energy sector for sustainable development, Africans and Europeans are making substantial joint efforts to assure secure, reliable, and affordable energy for the future.
• Policy and planning documents: Planning documents have been drafted or are underway for energy infrastructure in Africa and Europe: the NEPAD Short Term Action Plan (STAP) and Medium to Long Term Strategic Framework (MLTSF), the Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD) study, the Africa-EU Infrastructure Partnership, the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), Trans-European Networks (TEN) as well as energy aspects of the EU’s European Neighbourhood Policy and the Union for the Mediterranean. The African Union has recently adopted a “Declaration on development of transport and energy infrastructure in Africa”. Policy documents on access to energy have been adopted by several African Regional Economic Communities (RECs). Many countries have developed elements of national energy strategies, sometimes adopting a sector-wide approach to energy to facilitate the alignment and coordination of investments and partnership with development finance sources. In the Second EU Strategic Energy Review, the importance of Africa for EU’s energy security was highlighted as well as the urgent need to enhance cooperation with key African producing countries and to develop the high potential of Africa for renewable energy.
• Major infrastructure investments, regional integration: In both Africa and Europe, physical and economic integration of energy markets is progressing, at different pace, both through the building of energy infrastructure (power lines, gas pipelines, oil and gas storage facilities) and through increased convergence in legislative and regulatory frameworks in the energy sector. The groundwork is being laid for regional power pools in Africa. Infrastructure planning, under the leadership of the African Development Bank, is progressing.
• Energy access programmes: Many African countries have created specific instruments – rural energy agencies, rural electrification funds, special regulatory and legal structures for rural energy, forestry and biomass energy regulatory mechanisms – to facilitate expansion of access to energy. Grid extension, and to some extent decentralised energy systems, are increasing access to electricity in several countries. Several countries have established programmes to foster safe and sustainable cooking energy, through sustainable forest management, improved stoves or alternative fuels.
Gap between actions and objectives
• While adequate resources exist to meet energy needs, investment in energy production and energy transport infrastructure is inadequate.
Needed Action: Investment in energy infrastructure in Africa needs to be expanded – in order to meet the combined demand from growing economies and from expansion of energy services to new users.
• Diversification of energy sources is not proceeding adequately.
Needed action: Energy policies and policy tools must aim at diversifying energy supplies by using local energy sources, notably renewable energy sources.
• Safe and sustainable cooking energy is lacking for the majority of Africans, causing negative effects on health, on the environment and on efforts to achieve gender equality.
Needed action: According to national circumstances, cooking energy policies can combine improvement of traditional use of wood (sustainable forest management, improved stoves, etc.) with use of alternative biomass or fossil fuels such as LPG.
• Access to modern energy services is not growing rapidly enough to power achievement of the MDGs, notably in many countries in Africa.
Needed action: Energy access policies should be defined, and energy access programmes should be carried out.
• Dialogue and exchange on energy issues, be it on the political or technical level, is inadequate to focus our efforts and achieve maximum synergies.
Needed action: New and expanded opportunities for dialogue and exchange, at multiple levels, should be created.
Priority actions for the short, medium and long term
On the basis of the joint analysis of the energy challenge carried out by the African and European Implementing Teams, a number of priority actions have been identified, to address the policy, technology and finance aspects of the energy challenge. The roadmap describes both short term actions as mandated in the “First Action Plan (2008-2010) for the implementation of the Africa-EU Strategic Partnership”, and longer term actions that will be implemented after 2010.
In the short term, support for the Partnership will come from the most flexible EU financial instruments (Infrastructure Trust Fund, Energy Facility, bi-lateral cooperation for which the modalities of application can be determined in the near term), and from political support by public authorities. In the medium and long term, the Partnership will aim to attract increased flows of public resources (through better integration of energy considerations into development planning) and private capital (through improved framework conditions, and improved synergy with public political and financial action).
Mobilising additional resources and support for access to energy services
African countries and regions will sustain and strengthen efforts to create adequate political and regulatory frameworks to achieve the energy access goals expressed in the access White Papers adopted by the RECs, and in numerous national energy access strategies. EC support to energy access programmes will be increased. The Energy Facility I supports projects with a total contribution of 210M€, mostly in Africa. Discussion is underway for the modalities of the replenished Energy Facility (200M€), whose launch is expected by the end of 2009. EU bi-lateral actions in the field of access will be strengthened and replicated (see Annex of the roadmap for examples of activities).
Regional integration of energy systems and markets
The Regional Economic Communities (RECs) are supporting the strengthening of regional power pools and gas pipelines. At the continental level, the AUC and EC have agreed to work on standardisation and integration of energy markets. At the sub-regional level, the EC is supporting integration of electricity markets in Maghreb countries. A proposal for an Electricity Master Plan in expected to be presented by the AUC within the framework of the PIDA initiative.
Developing energy interconnections between Africa and Europe
EU and AU aim to reinforce their cooperation for the development of energy infrastructures of common interest for the increased energy security for both Europe and Africa. Thus, African and European public authorities will intensify their support for projects that are underway or planned for construction in the near term. Priorities will be determined through political and technical dialogue, in line with ongoing planning exercises, such as the Africa-EU Infrastructure Partnership, PIDA, the Second European Strategic Energy review and other processes.
Promoting an enabling environment for scaling up investments and mobilising private capital
AEEP efforts will focus on power pool interconnections, as well as regional and transcontinental gas and oil transport infrastructure, notably the priorities established in the NEPAD STAP and MLTSF, the PIDA and the TEN. The AEEP will seek to establish an expert group – including the EIB, the AfDB and other interested IFI’s and public financial bodies – to make recommendations on how best to mobilise public and private resources for investment in the energy sector.
The EU will intensify efforts to facilitate cooperation between private sector investors in Europe and Africa, with particular focus on attracting European investment to Africa. Opportunities for new projects will be identified. The EU – through instruments such as the Energy Facility, the European Development Fund (), the EUEI Partnership Dialogue Facility (PDF), and bilateral instruments – will support African countries who wish to launch or intensify efforts to improve the business climate for energy investments, in areas such as development of appropriate tariffs, or regulations on Independent Power Producers. With those countries and regions that so choose, the European Commission will open discussions on better integrating energy into European ODA, notably in view of the upcoming mid-term review of the 10th EDF and the programming for future Africa-Europe development cooperation.
The EU is supporting the efforts of those African states wishing to promote good governance and transparency, notably through its participation in international initiatives such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
The EU is currently discussing the modalities of implementation of the second ACP-EU Energy Facility, for 200 M€. The focus should be on renewable energy for access to energy, as well as on energy efficiency. As well, consultations on the outline of the initiative with EU and African partners should take place during 2009, in view of a launch in 2010. The EU is already working with some African countries on development of a Mediterranean Solar Plan that supports solar energy development in the region. More information is available in the draft roadmap.
Reduction of gas flaring and venting
The EC supports the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership. At the bilateral level, the EU member states and concerned gas producing countries are invited to seek means to support gas utilisation projects for efficient local use.
Developing institutional and technical capacity of the AUC, of RECs, of national authorities and of energy operators
The EC will facilitate access for African institutions, organisations and enterprises to technology and capacity building programmes in the field of energy, such as: SAVE; ALTENER; INCO; and Marie-Curie. It will also facilitate exchange of experience on key aspects of policy making in the energy sector between Europe and Africa. Details of other efforts are available in the roadmap.
Political and technical dialogue, contacts and exchanges
Dialogue will be strengthened at many levels, to better focus actions on public policy objectives, and to maximise synergies.
Implementation of actions
In accordance with the Africa-EU Ministerialerial Troika, Addis Ababa, 20-21 November 2008, Joint Progress Report on the Implementation of the Africa-EU Joint Strategy and its First Action Plan (2008-2010), dialogue will continue on establishing a more detailed action plan, in the form of the Road Map, including more information on financing, timing, driving actors, and benchmarks. This Action Plan will be presented for political endorsement at the first Africa-EU High Level Meeting on Energy, to take place most probably in autumn 2009.
View the finalised Draft Roadmap presented on 18 June 2009
