ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF2023)

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Published On - October 12, 2023

Webmaster ESEF, Executive Director Speeches

12 – 13 October 2023 Praia – Cabo Verde

Speech of Mr. Jean Francis SEMPORE, Executive Director of the ECOWAS Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency

PRESENTATION OF THE ECREEE 2023-2027 STRATEGIC PLAN

Praia, October 12, 2023

  • Mr Prime Minister of Cape Verde
  • Mr. President of the ECOWAS Commission
  • Ladies and Gentlemen Ministers and Honorable Deputies of Cape Verde
  • Mr. Minister of Industry, Trade and Energy of Cape Verde
  • Ladies and Gentlemen Ministers in charge of Energy of ECOWAS Member States
  • Ladies and Gentlemen Representatives of Ministers in charge of Energy of ECOWAS Member States
  • Mr. Commissioner in charge of Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalization of the ECOWAS Commission
  • Excellencies, the Ambassadors accredited to Cape Verde
  • Ladies and Gentlemen Representatives of International, African and Regional Organizations
  • Ladies and Gentlemen Representatives of Technical and Financial Partners
  • Mr. Representative of the World Bank
  • Mr. Representative of the African Development Bank Group
  • Ladies and Gentlemen Delegates of ECOWAS Member States
  • Excellency Mr. Resident Representative of ECOWAS in Cape Verde
  • Mr. Director of the Maritime Coordination Center of zone G
  • Ladies and Gentlemen Representatives of the Private Sector, Non-Governmental Organizations and the academic and scientific world
  • Dear Colleagues of the ECOWAS Commission and Specialized Agencies
  • Distinguished Guests
  • Ladies and gentlemen

Through me, the ECOWAS Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, a specialized agency of the ECOWAS Commission in charge of promoting Sustainable Energy, welcomes you to Praia on the occasion of the 8th edition of the ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF2023) on the theme “Strengthening sustainable energy in the ECOWAS region”.

At the beginning of my remarks, allow me to express my sincere gratitude to the Government of Cape Verde for hosting ESEF 2023 in this beautiful city of Praia which has hosted the ECREEE headquarters since 2010 and for the multifaceted support granted to ECREEE, thus allowing it to act efficiently for the promotion of Sustainable Energy in West Africa.

Mr Prime Minister,

Mr President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum is one of the three (3) regional initiatives of the ECREEE Strategic Plan 2023-2027, the other two being the ECOWAS Observatory for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency called ECOWREX and the Annual Report on progress in Sustainable Energy in West Africa. These three regional initiatives are closely linked to the three (3) regional programs of the said Strategic Plan, which are the Regional Renewable Energy Program, the Regional Energy Efficiency Program and the Transverse Regional Program. These regional initiatives and programs constitute the operationalization of the ECREEE Strategic Plan 2023-2027 which is based on 3 main strategic axes which are: (i) the strengthening of Institutional, Administrative, Financial and Digital Governance, (ii) the Improving the implementation of programs and projects, (iii) strengthening partnerships and mobilizing resources. You will note that this 2023-2027 Strategic Plan draws its foundations from ECOWAS Vision 2050 and the 4×4 Management Objectives of the ECOWAS Commission.

Mr Prime Minister,

Mr President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ladies and Gentlemen,

You can be proud of the action of ECREEE which served as a reference for the establishment of the Global Network of Sustainable Energy Centers called GN-SEC at the global level on the one hand and on the other hand which ensures the development of Sustainable Energy in West Africa thanks to the operationalization of the ECOWAS Regional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policies adopted in 2013 by the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government. These so-called Policies specify ambitious objectives for 2030 advocating access to sustainable energy for the entire population of the region.

The impact of the actions promoted by ECREEE is significant, I cite as proof the results of the 2022 Annual Report on progress in Sustainable Energy in West Africa which indicates installed capacities of renewable energies excluding large hydroelectricity from of the order of 800 MW through the sustained and combined actions of Member States, ECOWAS Specialized Agencies in charge of Energy and Technical and Financial Partners.

However, the challenges remain significant. The ECOWAS region continues to face significant challenges that are expected to have a lasting impact on its population and economy. These include the widespread shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2021 and the subsequent war in Ukraine in 2022. Climate change is also a major global threat with increased vulnerability of Africa from the West. The worrying security situation in West Africa reinforces this vulnerability. In this context, access to sustainable energy services continues to be a key development challenge in the ECOWAS region, and the transition to clean energy is becoming increasingly crucial. This is why ECREEE is strengthening its action and its contribution to the efforts undertaken at the level of Member States and other specialized ECOWAS agencies in concert with Technical and Financial Partners.

Mr Prime Minister,

Mr President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Finally, let me share with you some highlights of ESEF 2023.
ESEF 2023 is a co-organization with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy of Cape Verde and with the Cape Verde International Fair as part of the Energy Transition Week in West Africa. This is the place to send our sincere thanks to the Ministry of Energy of Cape Verde for the constant support and to the Cape Verde International Fair through the organization of the International Fair on Renewable Energy and the Energy Efficiency for exemplary collaboration. This Energy Transition Week in West Africa was also structured around several capacity building activities and working meetings with Technical Financial Partners on current Projects but also on new Projects currently underway. development or launch.

ESEF 2023, around more than 400 participants traveled to Praia but also more than a hundred actors from Cape Verde who are present.

ESEF 2023 is around fifty countries present in Praia with stakeholders made up of political decision-makers, the public sector, the private sector, civil society and the academic and scientific world.

ESEF 2023 is also the regional launch of the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Program (ROGEAP) which covers all ECOWAS countries as well as 4 other countries: Cameroon, Central Africa, Mauritania and Chad. This is the place to thank the World Bank for its sustained action and we take advantage of this to strengthen collaboration for better access of populations to sustainable energy and for better competitiveness of our economy.

ESEF 2023 includes high-level panels, thematic panels, technical sessions and side events.

I will cite the theme of Energy Efficiency which deserves appropriate treatment because it constitutes a key to sustainable access to energy but also to the competitiveness of our economies. You will agree with me that massive investments in the production of electrical energy both within the framework of the regional electricity market and in off-grid rural electrification programs will not have the expected effects if 30 to 50% of the electrical energy produced is lost in the production, transport and distribution chain as well as at the level of use.

I will also mention the theme of Green Hydrogen through the operationalization of the ECOWAS Green Hydrogen Policy and Strategy Framework adopted by the ECOWAS Council of Ministers in July 2023 and including the Regional Strategy and plans. of actions 2023-2030 and 2031-2050 were endorsed by the ECOWAS Ministers in charge of Energy on October 7, 2023 in Cotonou, Benin. For West Africa, it is a question of positioning itself as a major player in a prospective vision for 2050 while ensuring strong content for the benefit of our economies and our populations.

ESEF 2023 also involves discussions on the operationalization of the Renewable Energy Facility and the efficiency of ECOWAS, which aims to be an innovative tool for financing ECOWAS sustainable energy infrastructure projects.
ESEF 2023 is a set of 50 committed partners, including institutional partners, technical and financial partners as well as supporting partners.

Mr Prime Minister,

Mr President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Finally, I would like to express our gratitude to the Technical and Financial Partners who actively supported the organization of this edition. I cite in particular the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), WASCAL, GIZ, the World Bank, the European Union, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECID) and Climate Action

Africa from Canada. My thanks also go to the partners who supported capacity building activities ahead of ESEF 2023, these are precisely the Institute of the Francophonie for Sustainable Development (IFDD), the Center for Renewable Energies and the Cape Verde Industrial Maintenance (CERMI) of Cape Verde and the Solar Heating and Cooling cluster of the International Energy Agency (SHC). I cannot ignore the support of our traditional partners but also the new supports, I cite UNIDO, the African Development Bank, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Development (BMZ), the Center for Research and International Development of Canada (IDRC), UNDP, UNIDO, GGGI, EBID, BOAD, Austrian Cooperation (ADA) and USAID. We are also grateful for the support of the Cape Verde Youth Institute, the Cape Verde Football Federation, and the Cape Verde Armed Forces for the provision of buses which facilitate the logistics of this Event.

The hope of the inauguration of the mini solar power plant on the island of Fogo associated with a mini-grid by the end of the year is realistic and this is the place to thank USAID and the Tourism Fund of Cape Verde for their support in making this Project a reality.

Mr Prime Minister,

Mr President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Before ending my remarks, I would like to express the sincere gratitude of all the ECREEE staff for your presence at this opening ceremony and the commitment is made for stronger and more concerted action for better access to the sustainable energy for the populations of cities and countryside in our region and also for better competitiveness of our businesses.

Thank You.
Muito Obrigado!