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Energy

Africa

The EU and its African partners cooperate on energy issues through a number of initiatives that promote the deployment of clean, renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy access, local clean value chains and a just transition.

The EU is committed to supporting the implementation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 7 in Africa, aiming to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

The African continent holds 60% of the world's best solar resources, but it gets less than 2% of the global clean energy investments. 600 million people on the continent still lack access to electricity. 

Africa-EU Energy Partnership 

The Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP) is a long-term framework for strategic dialogue between the EU and the African continent, aimed at sharing knowledge, setting common political priorities and developing joint programmes on key energy issues of interest to Europe and Africa. It is one of the partnerships adopted under the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES), signed by 80 African and European Heads of State and Government at the 2007 Lisbon Summit. 

The overall objective of the AEEP is to improve access to secure, affordable and sustainable energy for both continents, with a special focus on increasing investment in sustainable energy infrastructure in Africa. 

At the 7th EU-AU Summit on 24-25 November 2025 in Luanda, Angola, EU and African leaders marked 25 years of strategic partnership. The joint declaration highlights the EU’s continued engagement in Africa, including through the €150 billion Global Gateway investment package, announced at the 6th EU-AU Summit in 2022, which supports large-scale infrastructure, energy and connectivity projects across the continent. Leaders underscored the need to deepen cooperation on clean energy, energy efficiency, resilient infrastructure and green investment, reflecting the partners’ joint ambition to accelerate a fair and inclusive energy transition.

Scaling up Renewables in Africa campaign

The Scaling up Renewables in Africa campaign was launched by President von der Leyen, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Global Citizen in November 2024 to bring clean energy to the communities that need it most. It ran for 1 year and concluded at the G20 summit in Cape Town in November 2025 with an additional pledge of €15.5 billion. The campaign called for new commitments on policy and finance from governments, financial institutions, private sector and philanthropists, to boost renewable power generation and access in Africa.  

Visit of Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, to Brazil

In September 2025, as part of the campaign, President von der Leyen announced a €545 million Team Europe package to accelerate Africa's clean energy transition. Projects supported by the package include electrification, modernising power grids, and improving access to renewables.

Global Gateway - The Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative 

The Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative, within the Global Gateway Investment package supports large-scale sustainable electrification programmes on the African continent with the goal of transforming the prospects of African people and helping the economy to grow, by addressing 3 priorities 

• increasing the number of African people, businesses and industries having access to affordable, reliable, modern and sustainable energy services 

• support investments in renewable energy generation and grid integration 

• promote energy efficiency

By 2030, the EU-Africa Green Energy Initiative aims to provide at least 100 million people with access to electricity and €3.4 billion in EU grants will be delivered through Team Europe to support renewable energy, energy efficiency, the just transition and the greening of local value chains. Part of this will be used to leverage private sector investments via guarantees and blending under the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFDS+). 

The initiative also proposes to promote new opportunities for cooperation on clean hydrogen production in Africa through four modes of cooperation: research, regulation, investments and trade. 

On 14 May 2024, Vice-President Šefčovič announced that under the 'Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative' €400 million in funding for clean cooking activities were mobilised, combining contributions from EU countries, implementing agencies and public development banks and €150 million from EU funds. 

Just Energy Transition Partnerships

The Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) is a global collaboration conceived to help emerging economies on their transition away from fossil energy and towards clean energy, in a way that also addresses social issues and economic challenges. 

The EU signed, together with the governments of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the US, a JETP with South Africa in November 2021. Under this partnership, the international partner group (IPG) provides financing of more than €3 billion to support's South Africa’s climate commitments. The withdrawal of the U.S. from the JETP in early 2025 did not affect the commitment of the IPG. 

In Paris in June 2023, France, Germany, the EU, the United Kingdom and Canada signed a JETP with Senegal, mobilising €2.5 billion that will contribute to accelerating the deployment of renewable energies and increase its share in installed capacity to 40% of Senegal's electricity mix by 2030. 

EU- South Africa cooperation

The EU and South Africa have a strategic partnership since 2006. The partnership is broad, comprehensive and dominated by mutual political, trade and development interests, including sustainable energy and climate change. Both sides are working together on the implementation of the Paris Agreement.   

  1. 20 November 2025

     Leaders’ summit, marked by the signature of the first ever Clean Trade and Investment Partnership (CTIP), the Partnership on Sustainable Minerals and Metals and the announcement of strategic projects worth €750 million to roll out the Global Gateway Team Europe Investment Package. All cover a broad range of energy transition related topics. 

  2. October 2025

    The Commission mobilised an €11.5 billion investment package with South Africa under Global Gateway, focusing on a just energy transition, sustainable infrastructure, digital connectivity and the pharmaceutical value chain. 

  3. September 2025

    EU-South Africa energy dialogue launched to advance cooperation on renewables, grids, green hydrogen, critical raw materials, and industrial decarbonisation

  4. January 2023

    January 2023 -  The EU launched a €280 million Just and Green Recovery Team Europe Initiative for South Africa under Global Gateway to support policy reforms, a green recovery, and unlock green investments in South Africa

  5. November 2021

    The EU, together with Germany, France, the UK and the U.S., signed an International Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) with South Africa, providing financing of more than €3 billion to support's South Africa’s climate commitments. Engagement continues despite the withdrawal from the U.S. at the beginning of 2025. 

Other support actions

One of the most effective ways to support the transformative path toward sustainable, affordable and accessible energy in Europe and in Africa is the promotion of joint research and innovation efforts in renewable energy and energy efficiency. To reach this objective, the European Commission is supporting the LEAP-RE project.

The Commission, EU countries and the EU financial institutions also support the Electrification Financing Initiative (ElectriFI). It contributes to the Africa-owned and led initiative, Africa Renewable Energy Initiative which was launched at COP21 in Paris 2015. It aims at harnessing Africa's abundant renewable energy resources to support their development strategies and leapfrog towards low-carbon economic development.

Some African countries are also members of the Union for the Mediterranean that supports energy cooperation through regional energy platforms covering natural gas, electricity markets, renewables and energy efficiency.