A window into what we’re reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

Africa Energy Bank Aims to Boost Energy Supply (Al Jazeera)

Nearly 43% of the African continent lacks consistent access to electricity, which is the lowest level of modern energy usage in the world. A newly established Africa Energy Bank aims to boost the energy supply on the continent through investments in energy infrastructure projects.

The Bank is a joint initiative created by the African Export-Import Bank and the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization. It will use funds pledged by Nigeria, Angola, and Libya (among other nations) to finance offshore oil exploration and gas-fired power plants. Despite concerns from environmentalists about the carbon emissions created by these projects, African leaders have decried restrictions placed by Western financiers on traditional energy projects. These officials point to estimates that put Africa’s responsibility for global emissions at 4% in total.

Africa boasts massive solar, wind, and geothermal resources, so he new bank’s investments in fossil fuel infrastructure are intended to fund the continent’s long-term transition to renewable energy. But the African Energy Chamber argues that in the near term, the continent has a “sovereign right” to develop its natural resources to support its growing energy needs.

READ | US-Africa Energy Development: An Opportunity for the Trump Administration? | New Security Beat

Wind Farms in Colombia Face Indigenous Resistance (AP News)

Wind and solar farm developers have honed in on the dry, windy La Guajira region of northern Colombia as a prime location for renewable energy infrastructure. This construction has fractured the indigenous Wayuu community, however, which is now torn between the financial benefits provided by developers and the encroachment of wind farms on sacred burial lands.

A just energy transition is crucial in La Guajira, where many residents are employed at Cerrejón—one of the world’s largest open-pit coal mines that now is approaching the end of its lifespan. Wind projects in the region could generate 15 gigawatts of energy, power 37.5 million homes annually, and spur international investment in the region.

Widespread complaints that the Wayuu were not consulted prior to the construction of wind farms now have stalled 57 planned infrastructure projects. Several families near wind turbines have accepted housing and financial assistance, yet others who oppose the new construction claim that no compensation from companies can restore traditional ways of life disrupted by renewable energy projects.

READ | A Land Grab or a Boon for Communities: Renewable Hydrogen in the Norwegian Arctic | New Security Beat

Greta Thunberg’s Climate Lawsuit Dismissed in Sweden (NBC)

Sweden’s Supreme Court has ruled that a lawsuit brought by famed climate activist Greta Thunberg and 300 youth plaintiffs seeking to compel the Swedish government to take greater action against climate change will not proceed. The decision of that nation’s top court comes as other youth climate lawsuits have been filed around the world with varying degrees of success.

Activists in Sweden claimed that the state violated the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to take action to limit climate change and its effects. In its decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the judicial system could not decide upon specific climate measures which the government should take. Yet the Court did leave the door remains open for future lawsuits that deal with individuals’ rights under the convention.

Thus, the European Convention on Human Rights may still provide grounds for legal remedies to the climate crisis. Only last year, the European Court on Human Rights ruled that the Swiss government had violated its citizens rights by not taking action to combat climate change.

WATCH | Paving the Way: Ethiopia’s Youth on the Road to Sustainability | New Security Beat