Greenpeace MENA Report Reveals Energy Systems in North Africa Still Dominated by External Interests
The Report Reveals Energy Systems in North Africa Still Dominated by External Interests, Proposes Sovereignty Mechanisms for Transition Beyond Fossil Fuels
BEIRUT, LEBANON, December 1, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- New Greenpeace MENA Report Reveals Energy Systems in Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia Still Dominated by External Interests, Proposes Sovereignty Mechanisms for Transition Beyond Fossil FuelsReleased after COP30, where governments failed to agree on a fossil-fuel phase-out roadmap and Global North climate finance fell short, the report offers a concrete response, outlining pathways for a just and sovereign renewable energy future in North Africa.
● North Africa’s energy transition is slowly shifting technologies but not shifting power, control, or benefits.
● For the first time, an Energy Sovereignty Index quantifies Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia’s energy sovereignty strengths and gaps.
● Export-first hydrogen, wind, and solar mega-projects risk creating “green sacrifice zones” serving Europe, not local communities.
● People living near oil and gas extraction sites earn only one to three cents per dollar of value generated, the study finds.
● The report puts forth various policy, legal and economic solutions for a just and sovereign energy future.
Beirut, 1 December 2025: A major new study warns that although Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco remain dependent on fossil fuels, their gradual shift to renewables is still entrenching external control over energy systems. ‘From Energy Security to Sovereignty’ finds that North Africa’s transition is being steered by foreign investors, international financial institutions, and export-oriented contracts that prioritize European markets over domestic needs. At the heels of COP30 which failed to provide both adequate climate finance for Global South countries and a just and equitable fossil fuel phase-out roadmap, the report also proposes legal and financial mechanisms to make climate-debt obligations for a just transition binding rather than voluntary.
Using a new, adapted Energy Sovereignty Index, the Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa (MENA) report measures renewable progress, resource control, justice, and policy autonomy, scoring Morocco at 5.5, Egypt at 4.5, and Tunisia at 4.25 out of 10.
While country readings converge on an energy sovereignty deficit, each context differs. Egypt is gas-heavy and export-oriented under IMF constraints; Tunisia is import-dependent with weak implementation and marginal renewables; Morocco leads on renewables but remains coal-dependent and reliant on foreign-owned, export-oriented assets.
Commenting on the report, Julien Jreissati, Programme Director at Greenpeace MENA, stated:
“For the first time, we are able to quantify Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia’s energy sovereignty gaps and potentials. The adapted index shows that cleaner does not mean just or more sovereign. And while these countries are shifting how they produce energy, control remains unchanged. Europe’s decarbonization cannot come at the expense of North Africa’s energy sovereignty. True energy sovereignty rests in the ability to determine how energy is used, not only how it is produced.”
The report recommends a fair and equitable phase out of fossil fuels, while emphasising that historic polluters cannot get away with the harm they have caused.
“Across the North Africa region, people living near fossil fuel extraction sites earn only one to three cents per dollar of value generated, while the true cost of health impacts, pollution, and social disruption remains unpaid. As we move towards renewable energy, we need to make sure that our people must be the primary beneficiaries of this transition,” Jreissati stated.
Meanwhile, the report warns that although a just transition in the region is needed, foreign-backed renewable projects aimed at exporting power to Europe risk creating new ‘green sacrifice zones’, where local communities shoulder, once again, the environmental and social costs such as water stress and land dispossession, without receiving equitable benefits.
To prevent the transition from reproducing extractivism under a green banner, the report outlines a pathway for a just and equitable energy transition in the three countries. It centers on developing sovereign renewable energy systems on finance through the climate debts owed by historic polluters in the Global North and their oil and gas industry, in line with the ‘make the polluters pay’ principle. The legal mechanisms it proposes include strategic litigation grounded in the 2025 International Court of Justice advisory opinion around climate obligations.
Among other tools to increase energy sovereignty, the report recommends mandating 15–25% domestic offtake for all export-oriented hydrogen and renewable projects, establishing community dividends tied to a fixed percentage of gross project revenues, and prioritizing decentralized renewables such as solar rooftops.
“North Africa sits at a critical juncture. With Europe seeking large-scale renewable and hydrogen imports, and with international financiers shaping project pipelines, the region must decide whether it will adopt a new extractive model, this time painted green, or implement a sovereign, community-centered renewable energy transition that delivers long-term resilience and fairness to its people,” Jreissati said.
“A just renewable energy transition begins with communities having a real stake in how energy is produced and who it serves,” Jreissati concluded.
Hiam Mardini
Greenpeace MENA
hmardini@greenpeace.org
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