Regional and National Frameworks for Energy Security in Africa

Abstract

Abstract This chapter focuses on the energy security in Africa. It describes Africa as blessed with abundant energy resources, more than enough to supply her needs. It adds that Africa is underdeveloped, with almost all the countries being classified as low in development, and half ranking amongst the least developed in the world. It notes that development is impossible, or at most an uphill task, in any place where there is no access to conventional energy. It explains that the difference between the rural dweller in a village in Africa and a city dweller lies in the amount of energy available for his use. The chapter is a discourse on energy security in Africa, primarily through the study of continental initiatives under the auspices of the African Union, and on sub-regional cooperative efforts that are aimed at addressing the issue of energy security in west and southern Africa.