In conjunction with its partners, the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), is organizing an ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Policy and Investment High Level Forum from 14th to 18th September 2015 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The forum  is meant to among others  galvanise investment in the renewable energy sector by identifying concrete investment opportunities, and is bringing together top-level policy and decision makers, project promoters, investors and international partners to discuss and explore relevant inter-linkages between the provision of enabling environment as well as project development and financing.

ECRREE said in a statement that the forum “will facilitate match-making for investment ready projects and serve as a platform for ECOWAS Member States to present their respective National Sustainable Energy Country Action Plans (National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs), National Energy Efficiency Action Plans (NEEAPs), and the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) Action Agendas) to potential financiers and investors”

It added that the event would provide a veritable platform for stakeholder dialogues on the required next steps to mitigate existing barriers to sustainable energy investments in the ECOWAS region.

The forum would also feature the recognition of the National Sustainable Energy Country Action Plans, the introduction of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Africa Clean Energy Corridor in ECOWAS (which calls for accelerated deployment and cross-border trade of renewable power) and the launch of the Network of ECOWAS SE4ALL Country Focal Points, which is taking up a strong role in coordinating the implementation of the SE4ALL Action Agendas in Member States. 

The IRENA Project and Financial Navigator and Sustainable Energy Market Place will be launched in West Africa with the aim of making the overall renewable energy project development process more transparent, practical and explicit.

In addition, the forum will also provide an opportunity for the launch of ECREEE Business Advisory council, a body whose aim is to support ECREEE on business conditions particular to the Renewable Energy (RE) and Energy Efficiency (EE) sector.

Potential projects expected to emerge from the forum will be implemented in Burkina Faso, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal. There will also be a regional project, based on green technologies such as biofuels, biomass, biogas, hydropower, solar, and waste-to-energy.

The initiatives as enunciated by the forum and coordinated by ECREEE and its partners will provide major support to the ECOWAS Member States in the realization of concrete projects meant to achieve the targets outlined in the National Sustainable Energy Action Plans.

The organisations which are partnering with the ECREEE in aid of the forum are the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Climate Technology Initiative – Private Financing Advisory Network (CTI-PFAN), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ)

The event is being supported by the government of Côte d’Ivoire, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC), the European Union (EU), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and the IRENA.

Apart from drawing strength from the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) Initiative, the meeting is taking place within the framework of the implementation of the ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policy (EREP) and the ECOWAS Energy Efficiency Policy (EEEP), which were adopted by the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in July 2013.