While Tunisia is now entering a new energy transition, following its international commitments, almost no debate has occurred at the national level on the redistributive aspects of this transition, which raises serious concerns and crucial questions.
Longread by. Illustration by Othman Selmi. Tunisia has achieved a high electrification rate, increasing from 21 per cent at the creation of the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas STEG in six years after independence to Being highly dependent on fossil fuel-based energy which accounts for 97 per cent of the production of electric production , the sector is facing increasing consumption, while the already limited national resources are diminishing.
In fact, the national production of primary energy decreased by 36 per cent between and Over the same period, the demand for energy increased more than twofold. All of this has resulted in a steady rise in electricity prices for consumers. Tunisia is meanwhile promoting the diversification of its energy mix through developing renewable energies.
However, the climate policies that have been designed by Tunisia in the last few decades have failed to bring about the changes needed. This could be achieved through a public goods and public ownership approach if the latter were carried out by accountable institutions, namely within the framework of energy democracy. This concept advocates a fair shift to an economy that is ecologically sustainable, equitable and just for all its members.
It asserts that transforming the way we use and think about energy requires deep transformations in every sector, and that the energy transition should be implemented carefully in order not to reproduce or deepen existing inequalities. Hence, the idea of a just transition emphasizes the issue of democracy, as well as the issues of sovereignty over public goods and the environment among others. According to the just transition framework, a real solution cannot simply tackle only one aspect of the problem of climate change β for instance, the sources of energy β while overlooking the social and environmental sectors that may depend on those sources in various ways.
