In the margins of COP30, where global negotiators deliberate on the future of climate action, the African Coalition for Sustainable Energy and Access, along with its partners, are pressing an urgent yet long-neglected truth: without universal energy access, there can be no meaningful mitigation, adaptation, or just transition. In this interview, Eugene N. Nforngwa Director of Programs and research at ACSEA and one of the leading voices from the COP30 on energy access explains why elevating energy access within the UNFCCC framework is essential for climate justice, how its formal recognition could transform finance flows to Africa, and why a pragmatic balance of renewables and transitional resources is critical for the continent’s development.
Here is an excerpt of the interview he gave Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) :
INTERVIEW RESPONSES
1) Why is it so urgent to elevate energy access to the same level as mitigation and adaptation in the global climate framework?
The urgency comes from a very simple truth: there is no climate resilience, no green industrialisation, and no just transition without energy access. More than 630 million Africans still live without electricity. Nearly one billion people cook with charcoal, firewood, and kerosene. That is not just a development statistic; it is a climate emergency.
When people lack access to modern energy, they fall back on the most polluting and dangerous options. That drives deforestation, emissions, and severe health risks. At the same time, hospitals, schools, early-warning systems, and local economies cannot withstand climate shocks without reliable energy.
So if the global climate regime continues to treat energy access as an afterthought, it creates a transition that is unbalanced and fundamentally unjust. We are arguing for its recognition because climate action is incomplete and in Africa, almost impossible without universal energy access.
2) What would formal recognition of energy access change in terms of climate finance and justice for African countries?
It would change everything. In the UNFCCC, what is not recognised is not funded. Because energy access is not defined as a climate goal today, it receives little to no climate finance, despite being central to mitigation and adaptation.
Formal recognition would unlock three big shifts:
First, it would direct climate finance toward the real needs of the world’s poorest electrifying communities, scaling clean cooking, and supporting decentralised renewables.
Second, it would correct a deep injustice. The world asks Africa to reduce emissions at the same pace as wealthy nations while millions still live in darkness. Recognition affirms Africa’s right to development and resilience.
Third, it would embed energy access metrics into the Global Goal on Adaptation and the Global Stocktake. That means countries will finally be judged, and supported, based on whether their people have the energy needed to survive climate impacts.
In short, recognition would bring money, political legitimacy, and accountability to an issue that has been ignored for decades.
3) What balance should Africa strike between renewable energy expansion and transitional resources as it pushes for universal access?
Our position is very clear: Africa must scale renewables as fast as possible, but it must also retain the policy space to use transitional resources where they are justified.
Renewables revolutionise access, especially off-grid solar, mini-grids, and clean cooking technologies. These should be the backbone of Africa’s energy future.
But we must be honest about the realities. Some countries still need limited, well-managed use of natural gas or other transitional resources to power industries, stabilise grids, and support economic transformation. Denying this is equivalent to denying Africa the right to develop.
So the balance is pragmatic: renewables first, renewables fast but with space for transitional options that help close the access gap without locking Africa into long-term emissions. This is what a just and context-appropriate transition looks like.
4) Was the COP30 side event on energy access a fruitful discussion, and do you expect it to influence negotiators as final decisions are drafted?
Absolutely, it was both timely and influential. What made it powerful was the unity of message across governments, youth leaders, civil society, and development partners. Everyone agreed that energy access must move from the margins to the centre of the climate conversation.
We framed clear, actionable pathways for integrating energy access into the Global Goal on Adaptation, the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance, and the Global Stocktake. These are the major decisions negotiators are shaping right now.
And I can tell you that several delegations, African and non-African, indicated that they will carry this message into the final negotiations. The side event helped crystallise a political moment. It gave shape and momentum to what could become a major outcome of COP30: the global recognition of energy access as a climate goal.
Watch the full interview here
