07 – 09 December 2021
Praia, Cabo Verde 09th December 2021 – The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) convened the fifth edition of the annual ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF) from 7-9 December 2021. This year’s forum was also held virtually due to the ongoing pandemic, under the high patronage of the Minister of Petroleum and Energy of Senegal, Her Excellency, Madam Aïssatou Sophie Galadima.
With over 400 registered participants, including Ministers, High level dignitaries from within and outside the region and 30+ speakers, and the 3-day online convergence produced engaging discussions around four thematic areas including: Policies and Investments, Green Hydrogen, Technology and Innovation and Productive Uses of Energy. Delegates also deliberated on the mobilization of clean energy investment aimed at realizing the ECOWAS Sustainable Energy goals and the implementation of the West Africa Clean Energy Corridor project, which seeks to integrate clean energy resources for regional power trade.
In his welcoming address, the Ag, Executive Director of ECREEE, Bah F.M. Saho commended ECREEE’s partners for their continued support towards “charting a sustainable energy future for the ECOWAS region”. Citing deficits in terms of attainment of the sustainable energy targets, the ECREEE Boss, stressed the need to establish robust partnerships and attract major investments in the sector.
Still at the opening ceremony, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Energy and Mines, Sediko Douka noted that the fifth edition of ESEF has provided delegates another opportunity to assess the level of progress made with regards to the sustainable energy targets earmarked for the region. He informed delegates that access to sustainable energy is critical in maintaining economic prosperity and resilience, noting that even before COVID-19, energy poverty has been prevalent in the ECOWAS region.
In her keynote address, the Minister for Petroleum and Energies, of Senegal, Aïssatou Sophie Gladima, thanked ECOWAS for the choice of Senegal as co-host of the event. She underscored the importance of ESEF 2021, noting that sustainable energy plays a key role in the socio-economic development of ECOWAS member states.
Other high-level signatories such as the Minister of Energy of Burkina Faso also participated in the event and called for the urgent implementation of priority cross-border power generation and transmission infrastructure to facilitate regional power trade. The UNDP Regional Office for West & Central Africa was also represented by Dr. Christelle ODONGO-BRAUN, who disclosed in her keynote presentation that UNDP will continue bring together the best talent, knowledge, innovations, partnerships, and finance to accelerate the clean energy transition and close the energy access gap, setting ambitious collective goals by 2025 through its newly launched energy compact initiative.
The forum singled out financing, technology, and partnerships as critical for realizing the ECOWAS Sustainable Energy goals by 2030. It also highlighted the need for regional approaches in terms of energy development. Mr. Hyacinth Elayo, Sustainable Energy Policy Officer, presiding over the closing ceremony of the event on behalf of the Acting Executive Director of ECREEE, expressed profound gratitude to the Honorable Minister of Petroleum and Energy of Senegal for hosting ESEF2021. He also thanked all the important dignitaries who attended the forum as well as development partners who contributed immensely to the success of the event.
ECREEE instituted the ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF) in 2017 to support the investment and policy initiatives of member states in the regional renewable energy sector. Since its inception the forum has proven to be the largest sustainable energy gathering in the West African region.
ESEF2021 was supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Water and Energy for Food (WE4F) Programme, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADA), the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) West Africa, the Global Green Growth Institute, the Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA), the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), and the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL).
The 6th Edition of ESEF will be held in Abuja, Nigeria in October 2022 and will see foremost energy leaders converge to assess the progress made by ECOWAS Member States in the quest to achieve the 2030 regional sustainable energy objectives.
For Forum videos are available on our YouTube channel:
Also for Forum presentations click here ESEF 2021 Presentations
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