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ECREEE is an observer organization of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change-UNFCCC, and has since 2011, participated in the UNFCCC Conference of Parties – COP meetings held once a year. At the margins of COP23 that took place in Bonn Germany from the 6th to 17th of November 2017, ECREEE was present to amongst other things, showcase its work and advancements in the promotion of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in the West Africa region.
COP23 was the second international gathering on climate change after the Paris Climate Change Agreement entered into force in 2015. It was presided by the government of Fiji but hosted by the German Government and the UNFCCC headquarters. The central aim of COP23 was to build greater ambition and to finalize the rules pertaining to the implementation of the Paris accord. The main message at the event was for the global community to continue to drive climate action towards the objectives of the Paris agreement. “Further, Faster Together” was the recurring motto throughout the two week event attended by more than 20,000 participants.
ECREEE as an active player in the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency maintained a two week exhibition together with other ECOWAS agencies and the commission. The center launched a new publication on Nationally Determined Contributions-NDC Implementation in the ECOWAS Region and presented the concept of an ECOWAS platform on climate finance. In collaboration with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the center co-organized a high level side event on mobilizing investments for advancing the implementation of renewable energy targets in African NDCs.
ECREEE has also positioned itself as a delivery partner of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) readiness and preparatory support program and took the opportunity to organize a brief meetup with the GCF and the ECOWAS focal points or national designated authorities-NDAs that were present at cop23.
Another notable highlight of ECREEE presence at COP23 was the side event organized on Providing NEXUS Solutions: Improving Livelihoods through regional cooperation. The side event was organized in collaboration with the Southern African renewable energy center- SACREEE, under the umbrella of the first meeting of the “African Sub-Network of Sustainable Energy Centres”. The event brought together high level speakers from UNIDO, the African Development Bank, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Environment, and SNV.
The main objective of the side event was to discuss on the need to channel regional cooperation towards a stronger NEXUS approach. This is against the background that lack of access to sustainable and affordable energy in most of the African Regions is still affecting a large number of the population. The intricate connection between water, energy, and food, and related dimensions such as gender, climate change, health and livelihoods, present not only challenges but also opportunities to achieve sustainable development across the African continent.
The distinguished panelists, amongst others, deliberated on the most effective ways for regional cooperation to foster the nexus approach on Energy, Agriculture, Water, Health and Gender aspects to ultimately tackle concurrently a number of sustainable development goals.
The ECREEE Executive Director also participated as a panelist and key note speaker in various other side events, tackling solutions to advance the renewable energy and energy efficiency market sectors in the ECOWAS region.