Conciliating economic development and energy transition in the Sahel - a scenario analysis

The Sahel is an African region that spans from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, located between the Sahara and the Sudanian savanna. Despite its vast potential, the Sahel remains one of the least developed regions in the world, plagued by harsh climates and a range of challenges, including energy, food, health, insecurity, and instability.

To address these challenges, sustainable and clean development strategies must be implemented, leveraging the region's abundant local renewable energy resources with political support and well-designed frameworks. This approach has the potential to deliver numerous positive outcomes, including improvements in the balance of trade, human well-being, and energy and food security.

This study explores the future development of the Sahel region across various climate policy scenarios and under different assumptions of socioeconomic variables. The coverage of the study is energy demand and energy mixes by sector, and also indicators such as the electrification rate, access to clean cooking technologies, use of modern renewable energy sources, and energy efficiency, as outlined in the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

The study demonstrates that the demographic development of the Sahel region can be sustained without causing higher energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. The use of modern renewables and electrification can help achieve this, and it is vital that appropriate policies and public support are in place to facilitate this transition. The potential benefits of this shift include improvements in energy balance of trade, food and water security, and the development of less carbon-intensive technologies and processes.

Overall, this study provides valuable insights into how the Sahel region can achieve sustainable and cleaner development using its significant renewable energy potential.