Report: Reframing Climate Justice for Development

On Tuesday, September 28, the Energy for Growth Hub and The Africa Center released Reframing Climate Justice for Development. In this report, nine energy and development experts from across Africa and the US collaborate to argue why we urgently need an expanded definition of climate justice and how that definition should drive a new approach to investments in energy-poor countries.

Some of the report’s key takeaways:

– Low-emitting energy-poor countries (encompassing nearly all of sub-Saharan Africa) face unique challenges that need immediate attention, but are largely off the radar of climate negotiators;

– Prevailing definitions of climate justice fail to capture energy poverty and can often contribute to distinctly unjust outcomes; and

– Climate justice must embody much clearer ideals of diversity, agency, ambition, resilience, innovation, and equity; We lay out what these mean in practice for policymakers and investors.

The report proposes six basic principles to help development funders support inclusive and equitable energy transitions in the poorest countries:

– Diversity: Adopt flexible policies and country-specific approaches.

– Agency: Prioritize African-owned ambitions and plans, and align external support.

– Ambition: Aim much higher than universal household access.

– Resilience: Prioritize energy solutions for climate adaptation.

– Innovation: Invest in emerging solutions, but beware of naive ‘leapfrogging.’

– Equity: Treat the remaining global carbon budget as a ‘development budget.’

Read more and download the full report here.