This policy brief examines the complex interplay of factors shaping Eswatini’s energy landscape, from security to coal development’s environmental, economic, and social implications. It outlines a roadmap for a Just Energy Transition in the Kingdom. It aims to align growth and development with Eswatini’s NDC commitment to generate 50% of energy from renewable sources by 2030 and COP 28 goals to shift from fossil fuels to green energy by 2048.

In Eswatini, access to electricity stands at 85%, with a current demand of 233 MW and growing. Areas of unmet needs are in hard-to-reach places, where homesteads are widely dispersed and far from the current grid system, making connection economically unviable. Only 49% of households use clean cooking methods, and much of cooking in rural areas still relies on woodlands, impacting the environment. Electricity in rural areas is mainly used for lighting, not for productive needs, due principally to affordability. Therefore, there is a need to ensure energy reaches the last mile and is used to drive catalytic sectors to facilitate SDG achievement.