World Energy Scenarios 2017 | Regional Perspective for Sub-Saharan Africa

The world energy system is undergoing faster and more fundamental changes shaped by the significant diversity of regional energy perspectives.

Since 2010, the World Energy Council has been developing World Energy Scenarios. Scenario planning is a useful tool when dealing with accelerating changes and complex challenges.

The World Energy Scenarios – The Grand Transition was published in 2016 in conjunction with the Council's 23rd World Energy Congress in Istanbul. Since the launch, the Council’s members have been using these scenarios to develop regional perspectives, conduct deep dives focussed on specific geographies or resources, and explore the implications for energy business model innovation. World energy leaders can use these scenarios to identify opportunities to shape a new world energy system for the greatest benefit of all.  This will help support strategic decision making at a time when the sector is undergoing a period of deep uncertainity.

The Sub-Saharan African region is both a shaper and taker of new global trends and disruptive developments. It is important to look beyond the global outlook and engage with regionally specific situations and developments. How will society’s shifting needs drive the development of renewables and decentralised energy technologies within the region?

This report presents a preliminary set of implications for the Sub-Saharan African region according to each of the World Energy Scenarios. They provide a starting point to drive deeper dialogue on the evolution of Sub-Saharan African regional energy that engages the perspectives of regional energy leaders and wider stakeholders.

By using these regional implications of different world energy futures and associated illustrative projections,  regional energy leaders can identify emerging issues and prepare better solutions for navigating the Grand Transition.