Workshop on Financing and Investments in Mitigation Actions in West Africa

 A two-day workshop on Financing and Investments in Mitigation Actions in West Africa was held June 4-5, 2012 in Accra, Ghana. It was jointly organized by ECREEE in collaboration with the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Business Climate Facility (BizClim). The workshop focused on creating the enabling environment for investment and innovative finance in Nationally Appropriated Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) in the renewable energy, energy efficiency and transport sector in West Africa by catalyzing the introduction of the necessary legal and regulatory reforms.Speaking at the event, Mr. Mustapha Hamed, Deputy Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, highlighted the need for the scope and breadth of both local and international financing sources and instruments to be increased to enable the implementation of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs).Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, Deputy Energy Minister of Ghana, in his address, expressed optimism that the workshop would provide practical ways to address the region’s efforts to leverage investment aimed at delivering more energy and less carbon.In his speech, Mr Mahama Kappiah, ECREEE ED, noted the NAMA approach had been adopted by the region because ‘experts consider that NAMAs could be the game-changer in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He noted that NAMAs could potentially bridge the gap between finance, economic development and climate change, thus presenting the possibility for developing countries to obtain additional funding for low-carbon growth.The meeting was attended by high level decision makers and experts from across the sub-region, and demonstrated visible leadership and political commitment to a common strategy for successfully shaping vibrant NAMA activities in the region.