SDG 7 aims to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all,” and is currently at risk of not being realized by 2030. However, an area of the world that is making real progress is Africa, a continent that has been struggling with overreliance on costly and unsustainable fossil fuels. A recent initiative from the European Commission is highlighting how global collective action can have a real impact in accelerating the aims of SDG 7 in Africa.

Africa’s Energy Transition

Africa accounts for 60% of the planet’s best solar energy resources, as well as presiding over an abundance of geothermal, hydropower, and wind energy. Despite this, the continent only attracts 2% of global renewable energy investment, meaning that 600 million people on the continent still live without a reliable source of electricity.

Africa’s demand for energy could increase eightfold by the year 2050, and in order to feed this demand in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner, there needs to be a transition away from fossil fuels to renewables, according to the Global Africa Business Initiative.

Scaling up Renewables in Africa Campaign

In a bid to accelerate Africa’s energy transition, the European Commission, in collaboration with advocacy organization Global Citizen and the Republic of South Africa, launched the “Scaling up Renewables in Africa” campaign. Inaugurated on the eve of the 2024 G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, the campaign will conclude with an event as part of the 2025 G20 summit in Johannesburg. Founded on the target agreed upon at COP28, to triple the planet’s capacity for green energy by 2030, the campaign is centered on accumulating commitments and finance from the public and private sectors, as well as from global banks and philanthropists, in order to accelerate the green transition throughout Africa.

New Funding

On September 30 2025, the European Commission announced a raft of new funding. The package totaled €545 million and was announced at the Global Citizen Festival. The €545 million should go on projects across the African continent, to expand access to electricity, update aging energy infrastructure and increasing the use of renewables. The timing of this announcement feeds into the broader aims of the “Scaling up Renewables in Africa” campaign, building momentum for its conclusion at the November G20 summit in Johannesburg.

Affected Projects

Among the projects announced are the construction of a more efficient regional energy distribution network in Côte d’Ivoire, for €359.4 million; an investment of €59.1 million in Cameroon to electrify rural areas, impacting more than 2.5 million people; and a €45.5 million pledge to make renewable forms of energy more accessible and affordable for Somali communities, furthermore, helping move towards achieving SDG 7 in Africa. Smaller projects affected by this announcement include funding for the Renewable Lesotho program, helping to realize the country’s potential hydro and wind energy production, a solar farm in Ghana and the installation of mini grids in Madagascar’s rural interior.

Impacts on Poverty

The links between poor access to electricity and poverty are evident. Through increasing access to electricity, rural households throughout Africa will be able to escape the vicious cycle of poverty through more efficient lighting, heating, cooking, communication and even financing. This frees up more time for economic productivity and education, which in turn leads to higher earnings and the potential to eliminate economic poverty.

Increasing access to renewable energy renders the transition out of poverty sustainable, allowing countries to modernize without jeopardizing their future environmental health. The excessive use of fossil fuels is a potential existential threat to the biodiversity of African nations, harming many people’s way of life. Green electrification, as offered by the “Scaling up Renewables in Africa campaign, is a perfect answer to the often-competing targets of environmental conservation and poverty alleviation, as well as providing a more cost-effective solution than economic development built on fossil fuel usage.

Final Notes

The pledge of €545 million is a major indicator of the global community’s commitment to SDG 7. Since this announcement, the EU pledged a further €618 million to fund an even wider array of projects across the continent, moving closer to achieving SDG 7 in Africa. This demonstrates the continued emphasis that the European Commission is placing on championing renewables in Africa and signals the continuation of the positive momentum in Africa’s green transition heading into the G20.

– Henry Weiser

Henry is based in Cornwall, UK and focuses on Technology and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr