Uganda is faced with a challenge of huge energy deficit just like many other developing countries in Africa. Currently, only 26.7% of the total population has access to electricity. Energy being the life – blood of any growing economy, subsequent endeavors and strategies need to be put in place in order to expand the use of renewable energies for socio-economic development and environmental sustainability. Uganda being endowed with plenty of solar energy resource, its role in achieving national ambitions of Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) cannot be underestimated. This paper therefore reviews the growth of Solar Photovoltaics (PV) in Uganda that was birthed in the 1980’s and continues to mature steadily today contributing 4.24%(50MW) to the national grid with several un documented off – grid systems. This progress has been realized under different market segments inclusive of the pico and macro solar home systems, Institutional PV, mini-grids, telecommunications and street lighting. Notwithstanding the prevalent challenges, there are numerous existing opportunities for solar PV development consisting of the financial, environmental, Institutional and the socio-economic factors. With more government and different stakeholder engagement however, this growth in the country could be accelerated further as the costs of the technology continue to plummet.

The launching of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 has continually advanced the sustainability paradigm across all corners of the globe. While this has led to the fruition of inherent country policies and plans for Uganda, the country is still trailing below the desired rate of attaining SDGs by 2030. The commencement of this decade of action and the proliferating intensity of the current unprecedented health crisis have thus called for heightened emphasis on inclusive sustainable development for the most disproportionately disadvantaged populations of which refugees form part. The pandemic has forced key stakeholders to shift their focus by re-allocating their scarce resources from disadvantaged communities such as refugee camps, thereby exposing them to severe and unacceptable vulnerability. Coupled to this COVID-19 pandemic is the prevalent energy crisis in displacement camps which shall have far-reaching disruptions. Increased energy access in refugee settlements shall help advance the modest progress made so far. This paper therefore highlights the most promising Waste-to-Energy (WtE) options for displacement camps in the Ugandan context which are evaluated based on a Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) matrix upon which deductions of anaerobic digestion and briquettes respectively serve as the best ranked options respectively for more inclusive social economic development in these settings.

Improper waste management and disposal in major cities of Malawi transpires to be one of the major environmental setbacks as waste remains uncollected and usually disposed in open dump sites. Such waste emits greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere that contribute to global warming and climate change in addition to pollution of water sources. The effects of climate change to Malawi have been far reaching to the extent of experiencing floods and droughts. This in retrospect has also had lasting impacts on Shire River where more than 95% of the country’s electricity is generated. Consequently, the rate of power generation is greatly hindered which has thus left only 11% of the population with access to electricity partly due to droughts. This paper therefore focusses on the capturing of methane from municipal solid waste as a solution to climate change and energy challenges through the utilization of methane, a combustible gas which is beneficial in regard to cooking, heating and electricity generation. This is amplified with particular review of the challenges, opportunities, policy framework in place and the pertinent role of anaerobic digestion as the game changer in climate change mitigation and adaptation in Malawi.