Towards just energy access in Least Developed Countries

Least Developed Countries (LDCs) confront a distinctive energy challenge: not transitioning from fossil fuels, but building inclusive, low-carbon energy systems from deep structural disadvantage. Energy poverty, indebtedness and weak productive capacity are rooted in colonial histories that reorganised economies for extraction rather than domestic need.

Barriers to energy access cut across the governance and value chain, shaped by global trade and finance rules, fiscal constraints, infrastructure deficits and household-level affordability challenges. Prevailing just transition frameworks, designed for the concerns of fossil fuel-dependent economies in the global North and larger emerging economies, offer limited guidance for LDCs.

Drawing on academic and grey literature and policy engagement, this briefing examines the structural roots of LDC energy poverty, assesses the limitations of existing frameworks and identifies institutional pathways for more equitable energy governance.