African Climate Alliance’s Lilongwe Climate Week Takes on Malawi's Energy Crisis
By Simeon Kalua
Malawi currently faces a profound energy crisis, less than 15% of its population has access to reliable electricity, while over 80% remains heavily reliant on traditional biomass sources, mainly firewood and charcoal. This reliance drives a vicious cycle of energy poverty, environmental degradation, and increased vulnerability to climate shocks. Recognizing the urgency of this reality, a workshop on Clean and Sustainable Energy for All was hosted at Youth Wave in Lilongwe on September 27 2025, organized under the banner of the African Climate Alliance Climate Week and hosted by dedicated ACA Graduate Ambassadors.
“Malawi currently faces a profound energy crisis, less than 15% of its population has access to reliable electricity, while over 80% remains heavily reliant on traditional biomass sources, mainly firewood and charcoal.”
This workshop brought together youths from diverse universities and youth-led organizations in Lilongwe. The workshop’s primary objective was to serve as a crucial platform to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaborative problem-solving regarding the national energy crisis, positioning youth at the forefront of building climate-resilient communities in Malawi.
The first session of the workshop was on contextualizing energy in Malawi and the role of clean energy in building climate-resilient communities in Africa where the discussions particularly focused on the key energy challenges Malawi faces. These include low electrification rates, the heavy reliance on hydropower which is inherently vulnerable to drought, resulting in frequent blackouts and high electricity costs, and the resultant environmental degradation from extensive biomass use, all compounded by underinvestment in energy infrastructure.
Furthermore, the discussions highlighted existing policy frameworks designed to mitigate these issues, including the National Energy Policy (2018), which aims for secure, reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy; the Renewable Energy Strategy (2017), which sets a goal of achieving 20% non-biomass renewable energy by 2030; and the National Charcoal Strategy (2017), focused on reducing deforestation and promoting clean alternatives.
Critical discussions centered on resolving the persistent biomass crisis in Malawi, which is characterized by the reliance on firewood and charcoal for the vast majority of cooking and heating needs. The discussions touched on the necessity of a Just Transition and the reality of energy poverty, wherein a lack of access to reliable and affordable modern energy sources directly translates into increased biomass dependency, worsening both public health outcomes and environmental degradation. To combat this, youths share local energy for cooking solutions, including the effectiveness of briquettes and how to fabricate them from agricultural waste, offering a feasible, cleaner cooking alternative.
“To combat this, youths share local energy for cooking solutions, including the effectiveness of briquettes and how to fabricate them from agricultural waste, offering a feasible, cleaner cooking alternative.”
The workshop through group discussions, participants identified innovative clean energy solutions in their communities and discussed the challenges people face in adopting these solutions. Participants recognized that while innovation exists, three major challenges hinder the widespread adoption of clean energy solutions. The most prominent barrier cited was limited funding, which makes it financially challenging for low-income households to transition away from cheap, traditional biomass energy. Coupled with this is a significant lack of awareness and ignorance, making it difficult to combat the deep-rooted cultural use of biomass resources.
The outcome of the workshop, however, translated into an urgent and collective call to action among participants. This includes driving greater collaborative efforts among youth, intensifying advocacy for the energy just transition and energy policy enforcement and promoting innovative alternatives to biomass like briquettes. Through focused capacity building and sustained knowledge sharing among youths, Malawi can begin to dismantle the biomass crisis and forge a sustainable, energy-secure future for all its citizens.
This article was originally published on Simeon’s Substack Newsletter, Malawi’s Call
