Susan is a lawyer and currently a Natural Resources Governance and Rights Specialist at Regenerate Africa, Uganda. She provides technical advice and project support to Regenerate Africa’s natural resource development and governance agenda. Susan is also a lecturer at the School of Law, Nkumba University, Uganda, where she teaches International Law and Environmental Law. Susan holds a PhD from the Center for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP), Universty of Dundee, United Kingdom. Her PhD was titled “Just Criticality: A justice framework for critical minerals value chains” where she argues for the need for a just holistic value chain framework when dealing with critical minerals. She places her arguments within the current context of climate change, the just energy transition and the minerals-energy nexus.
Susan also worked on two CEPMLP projects on navigating the energy transition in Africa, funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh and UK Aid. She supplemented her studies with internships at the Extractives Hub, CEPMLP and the International Energy Agency (IEA). At the IEA, Office of the Legal Counsel in Paris – France, Susan contributed to two reports on (1) Driving Down Methane Leaks from the Oil and Gas Industry; (2) The role of critical minerals in clean energy transitions. She has conducted extensive research on climate change issues and natural resource governance. Susan has previosly worked as a senior research associate and project manager of the Women in Energy and Mining Empowerment Program of the ‘African Energy and Mining Management Initiative’ (AEMI), based in Uganda and in private law firms. Over the five years, Susan has conducted interdisciplinary energy, environmental and mining policy research. She analysed data and literature on several topics such as energy justice, the role of critical minerals in global decarbonisation, just transition, energy transition, zero-carbon energy systems, oil and gas, environmental and social governance concerns (ESG), circular economy and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
She also holds an LLM in Natural Resource Law and Policy (Distinction) from the CEPMLP, University of Dundee, a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre, Kampala, and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from Makerere University. Susan is also a member of the Uganda and East African Law Societies and the Energy Institute.
PUBLICATIONS
Book Chapters
Azubuike S.I., Nakanwagi S., & Dike S.C. (2022). Utilizing Sustainability Assessment Framework to Obtain a Social Licence to Operate in Renewable Energy Products. In Wood G., Gorski J., Mete G. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Social Licence to Operate and the Energy Transitions. Palgrave Studies in Energy Transitions. Palgrave MacMillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74725-1_5-1
Nakanwagi S. (2021). Nuclear Energy Energy Transitions: Prospects, Challenges and Safeguards in Sub-Saharan Africa. In: Nalule V.R. (eds) Energy Transitions and the Future of the African Energy Sector. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56849-8_4
Journal Articles
M.C. Abraham-Dukuma; O.C. Aholu; S. Nakanwagi; 2022. “Improving Regulatory Approaches for Abating Upstream Gas Emissions in a Low Carbon Era: Case Study of Algeria, Egypt, and Nigeria”, OGEL 2 (2022), www.ogel.org URL: www.ogel.org/article.asp?key=4021
Azubuike, S.I., Nakanwagi, S. and Pinto, J., 2022. Mining Resource Corridor development in Nigeria: critical considerations and actions for a diversified and sustainable economic future. Mineral Economics, pp.1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13563-022-00307-5
Susan Nakanwagi and Ayebare Tom Rukundo, ‘Covid-19 Pandemic Deranging Energy Transition in Uganda: Challenges and Prospects,’ Global Energy Law and Sustainability, 1.2 (2020): 211–216, DOI:
10.3366/gels.2020.0030 © Edinburgh University Press
Institutional Reports and Papers
Susan Nakanwagi, 2021. Navigating the Energy Transition in Africa, The Fate of Nascent Petroleum Economies in an Accelerating Global Transition. Centre for Energy, Petroleum, and Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee, supported by UKAID. https://energyhubplus.org/wpcontent/uploads/2021/06/20211028-Research-Insight-FINAL.pdf
Susan Nakanwagi, 2021. Increasing Uptake of Liquefied Petroleum Gas in Uganda: Lessons from Morocco. Centre for Energy, Petroleum, and Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee, supported by the Royal Society of Edinburgh. https://energyhubplus.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/20211028-
RSE-Uganda-Research-Insight-FINAL.pdf
Peter Cameron, Daniel Gilbert, Maroof Mittha, and Susan Nakanwagi, 2021. Moving Beyond Oil and Gas: What can we learn from States in the Commonwealth? Centre for Energy, Petroleum, and Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee, supported by the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
IEA (2021). The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions. World Energy Outlook Special Report, International Energy Agency, Paris. https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-mineralsin-clean-energy-transitions (Contributor)
IEA (2021), Driving Down Methane Leaks from the Oil and Gas Industry, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/reports/driving-down-methane-leaks-from-the-oil-and-gas-industry (Contributor)
Loyola Karobwa and Susan Nakanwagi, ‘Analytical Report of the Legal Challenges faced by the Artisanal Salt Miners at Lake Katwe in Uganda and the Possible Practical Solutions,’ (July 2020), African Energy and Minerals Management Initiative, Legal Aid Programme.
Susan Nakanwagi, ‘Examination of the Challenges Faced by the Female Artisanal Salt Miners and the Possible Practical Solutions: Case study – Lake Katwe, Uganda,’ December 2018, AEMI Women in Energy and Mining Empowerment Program.
Blogs and Insights
Nakanwagi s., (2022), Using Regeneration for Environmental Protection (In Commemoration of the World Environment Day 2022). Regenerate Africa regenerateafrica.org/2022/06/10/1135/
Nakanwagi S 2021., Mine Closure and Justice Implications [Online] International Journal of Petroleum, Infrastructure, and Energy Law. (IJPIEL). Available at <https://ijpiel.com/index.php/2021/08/13/mine-closure-and-justice-implications/>
Susan Nakanwagi, ‘Understanding Linkages in the Extractive Industries: An Insight,’ December 2019, Extractives Hub, University of Dundee
Susan Nakanwagi, ‘Overview of the Legal and Regulatory Framework of the Oil and Gas Industry in Uganda,’ April 2019, AEMI Knowledge Centre.