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Renewable Energy in Africa Bulletin

Volume 149 Number 1 - Monday, 21 April 2008

	INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY IN AFRICA

	16-18 APRIL 2008

The International Conference on Renewable Energy in Africa was held at Le Meridien President Hotel in Dakar, Senegal, from 16-18 April 2008. The Conference focused on the theme “making renewable energy markets work for Africa: policies, industries and finance for scaling up,” and was jointly organized by the Government of Senegal, the African Union (AU), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). It brought together 500 participants, including: high-level representatives and experts in energy and industry from African countries; representatives from the African Union Commission (AUC) and African Regional Economic Communities; and representatives from UN agencies, bilateral organizations, the private sector, as well as regional and international non-governmental organizations.

The Conference aimed to provide visible leadership and commitment to a common strategy for market-based scaling up of renewable energies in Africa. The major objectives were to: assess the potential of renewable energy in addressing Africa’s energy challenges; identify policy and regulatory options and new policy actions to stimulate broader and accelerated market-based dissemination of renewable energy; and identify capacity needs for renewable energy market enablers and players.

The three-day meeting consisted of plenary and parallel sessions as well as a Ministerial Segment. Recommendations from these sessions were consolidated into a Plan of Action on Scaling Up Renewables in Africa, which was endorsed in the Dakar Declaration on Scaling Up Renewables in Africa. The Declaration was adopted during the Ministerial Segment and notes that Conference participants, inter alia:

• agree to an African continental target for governments, with support from development partners, to scale up annual renewable energy investments to US$10 billion between 2009-2014;
• adopt a Plan of Action consisting of five key programme dimensions;
• call upon African governments, their international development partners, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to support implementation of the Plan of Action with adequate resources; and
• recommend that the AU, UNIDO and other relevant development partners establish a ministerial-level policy advocacy group, to be supported by a coordination unit.

This report provides background information on African energy institutions and initiatives, and summarizes the discussions and outcomes of the Conference.