Kimuli Ismail, Kirabira John Baptist
Makerere University College of Engineering, Design, Art, and Technology, Kampala, Uganda.
iScience. 2025 Jun 13;28(7):112877. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.112877. eCollection 2025 Jul 18.
This perspective explores the regulatory and policy challenges facing Uganda's energy and transportation sectors, which impede the transition to a sustainable energy future. Despite foundational policy frameworks such as the National Energy Policy (2023) and Uganda Vision 2040, the country's regulatory environment lacks enforceable mandates essential for promoting energy efficiency and sustainable mobility. Increasing energy demands and urbanization worsen inefficiencies, highlighting the need for integrated policies that target industrial decarbonization, energy performance standards, and electrified transportation systems. Using a structured qualitative policy analysis framework integrating content analysis, critical discourse analysis, and comparative policy evaluation, this study systematically assesses Uganda's policy gaps, enforcement challenges, and opportunities for regulatory improvements. Drawing from global best practices, the paper outlines forward-looking strategies to address these gaps, including the adoption of mandatory energy performance standards (MEPS), innovative financial mechanisms, such as green loans and public-private partnerships, and comprehensive national mobility strategies prioritizing electrified mass rapid transit and low-carbon infrastructure. The perspective highlights the importance of data-driven policymaking and robust financial incentives to accelerate the uptake of energy-efficient technologies and sustainable transportation solutions. The insights and recommendations are intended to inform policy and practice scalable to other nations in the Global South. Implementing these strategies will enable Uganda to achieve economic growth while fulfilling its sustainability obligations under global frameworks like the Paris Agreement and SDGs (7, 9, 11, and 13). This work contributes to the broader discourse on energy policy and sustainability, aligning well with the global energy community's focus on innovative perspectives at the intersection of technology, environment, policy, and economics.
本视角探讨了乌干达能源和交通部门面临的监管和政策挑战，这些挑战阻碍了向可持续能源未来的转型。尽管有《国家能源政策》（2023年）和《乌干达2040愿景》等基础政策框架，但该国的监管环境缺乏促进能源效率和可持续交通所必需的可执行指令。不断增长的能源需求和城市化加剧了低效率，凸显了制定针对工业脱碳、能源性能标准和电动交通系统的综合政策的必要性。本研究使用了一个结构化的定性政策分析框架，该框架整合了内容分析、批判性话语分析和比较政策评估，系统地评估了乌干达的政策差距、执法挑战以及监管改进的机会。借鉴全球最佳实践，本文概述了应对这些差距的前瞻性战略，包括采用强制性能源性能标准（MEPS）、创新金融机制，如绿色贷款和公私伙伴关系，以及优先考虑电动大运量快速交通和低碳基础设施的全面国家交通战略。该视角强调了数据驱动的政策制定和有力的财政激励措施对于加速采用节能技术和可持续交通解决方案的重要性。这些见解和建议旨在为可扩展到全球南方其他国家的政策和实践提供参考。实施这些战略将使乌干达在实现经济增长的同时，履行其在《巴黎协定》和可持续发展目标（7、9、11和13）等全球框架下的可持续发展义务。这项工作有助于更广泛地讨论能源政策和可持续性，与全球能源界在技术、环境、政策和经济交叉点上对创新视角的关注高度契合。
