ETA Explains breaks down complex energy, climate, and extractive industries issues into clear, accessible insights. From just transition concepts and carbon markets to critical minerals and energy finance, this section demystifies technical debates shaping Africa’s energy future. Built for clarity and context, ETA Explains helps policymakers, journalists, advocates, and citizens understand the issues — without losing nuance or depth.
47 articles found
Mini-grids vs national grids in Africa: are they complementary solutions or structural compromises? An ETA explainer on access, investment and industrial growth.
Oil and gas careers in Africa are entering a defining decade. Here’s how energy professionals must evolve, adapt and stay competitive in 2026 and beyond.
For more than a decade, the global energy transition has been sold as a story of technology. We are told solar panels are getting cheaper, wind turbines are getting taller, and batteries are...
For most of modern economic history, electricity demand has followed growth. When economies expanded, electricity use rose steadily and predictably, rarely faster. That relationship is now breaking....
There is a phrase that has followed Africa through almost every global climate forum in recent years: “clean energy for people and planet.” And it sounds inclusive, moral and hard to argue against....
I grew up learning how to adapt to electricity failure. You learn early what time power usually goes out, you know when to charge phones, when to pump water, and when to run appliances. You learn the...
For most of the past decade, climate finance has been discussed as a moral equation. If African countries showed ambition, net-zero targets, transition plans, long lists of renewable projects, and...
Africa is central to the global energy transition, yet marginal within it. The minerals that make modern clean energy possible are increasingly sourced from Africa. Cobalt stabilises batteries,...
I have lost count of how many times I have heard the same sentence, delivered with confidence and concern in equal measure: Africa needs gas as a transition fuel. It is said in conference halls,...
For years, global climate negotiations have relied on a fragile yet powerful idea: that collective action, however imperfect, is preferable to unilateral drift. The machinery of climate governance...
Mini-grids are one of the rare areas in Africa’s energy transition where consensus exists. They work. They deliver reliable power faster than grid extension, cleaner power than diesel, and more...
“Only 14% of committed mini-grid funding has actually been disbursed.” That figure should stop every energy conversation in its tracks. I have spent years travelling through African communities where...