Colonial energy systems have long been defined by centralized control and profit-driven decision-making. Choices about energy access, infrastructure and ownership have typically been made far from the communities most affected, reinforcing patterns of exclusion, disempowerment and inequality. Energy planning has been treated as a technocratic exercise, largely disconnected from justice, community wellbeing and the cultural and ecological relationships people hold with their territories.
This approach has been reinforced by international financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank, which have promoted market-led, centralized energy models aligned with Global North interests, effectively exporting a Western-centric energy model. Despite global gains in energy access, the growth rate remains off track to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 and energy access is stagnating in regions that need it most. In sub-Saharan Africa, progress on electricity access is only just keeping pace with population growth, leaving the access gap stubbornly high. Meanwhile, 2.1 billion people globally are without access to clean cooking, and the pace of poverty reduction is slowing.
The consequences of this model are stark. Many Global South countries now face rising debt and limited fiscal space to invest in inclusive alternatives. Communities often face unaffordable energy costs and exclusion from planning processes. What was once framed as a development pathway is now revealing its limits – deepening inequality, undermining sovereignty and obstructing more just and resilient energy futures.
The shift to renewable energy presents a critical, though far from automatic, opportunity to do things differently. Unlike fossil-fuel infrastructure, many renewable technologies, such as solar and wind, are well-suited to decentralized generation and transmission. This opens space to move away from extractive, export-oriented approaches towards models grounded in justice, care and self-determination. In many contexts, decentralized systems that generate energy close to where it is used can enhance local control, participation and resilience. But decentralization is not the only pathway. What matters most is designing energy systems in ways that guarantee community rights, enable democratic participation and prioritize the needs of those most marginalized.
There is a spectrum of models through which communities can participate in or control energy systems– ranging from full community ownership to hybrid governance structures that still put community rights, voices and benefits first. These models can vary by legal framework, funding mechanism, technology and scale, but what distinguishes them is where power lies: in the hands of the community, or at least meaningfully shared with them.
Across the world, diverse community-led energy initiatives are advancing this shift. Their variety is a reminder that a just and decolonized transition must be plural – rooted in different worldviews, knowledge systems and relationships with nature. There is no single blueprint. What matters is building placebased pathways that uphold energy as a collective right and a foundation for wellbeing.
From rural cooperatives to urban solar collectives, these initiatives embed energy governance in local contexts and community priorities. In Colombia, inspired by grassroots and organic ‘energy communities’ that civil society has built over previous decades, the government aims to establish 20,000 of these collectives by 2026. Groups of people or institutions come together to generate, manage and sometimes distribute energy, typically from renewable sources. These include state schools and hospitals and they aim to empower historically marginalized groups – Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendants, peasants and victims of conflict – as energy producers, thus acknowledging historical and structural inequalities while recognizing ethnic communities’ jurisdiction and land governance rights, allowing them to generate and manage energy under their own norms. This emerging democratization of the energy model has been questioned by communities over issues related to land tenure and private sector involvement, but it has also been seen as a positive starting point for a broader debate on the distribution of resources.
In Senegal, decentralized renewable energy is transforming rural economies, especially in the north. Programmes like PAER and Progrès Lait use off-grid solar to power agriculture, reduce waste and support women’s and youthled businesses. These systems bypass exclusionary infrastructure, enabling communities to control energy use and production. They foster jobs, food security and education, while shifting economic and political power locally. Grounded in community needs, they offer a more inclusive, resilient alternative to top-down energy governance.
Urban areas also hold potential for transformative decentralization. In Brazilian favelas such as Complexo do Alemão and Paraisópolis, residents face energy injustices through inflated tariffs, frequent outages and discriminatory infrastructure. Grassroots solar cooperatives are reclaiming energy autonomy, pushing back against systemic racism and exclusion. Whether rural or urban, these decentralized systems operate independently from national grids, rooting energy in community control. They foster economic inclusion, resilience and energy sovereignty, especially when supported by public investment and enabling policy.
In all these cases, the core shift is not just technical, but also political. Whether through decentralized systems or inclusive public planning, the goal is to shift control away from monopolies and toward the people and places most affected. When supported by public investment and enabling policy, energy systems can be transformed into tools for justice, equity and repair.
Excerpt of: “Unjust Transition: Reclaiming the energy future from climate colonialism“,
Oxfam, 2025