The concept of people’s energy sovereignty is one that responds to the crises of the times. It is linked to food sovereignty defined by the Nyeleni Declaration1 as:
… the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It puts those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations.
In September 2005, activists from Africa’s petroleum frontlines – from the oil fields to the refineries and petrochemical plants – met in opposition to the agenda of the World Petroleum Conference (WPC) in Sandton, Johannesburg. The WPC agenda proclaimed the oil elite’s intention to shape the world’s energy future. Mindful of the scale of human and environmental atrocity associated with big oil’s activities all along the production chain, as well as the consequences of climate change, the activists responded that ‘another energy future is necessary’.
