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The inaugural two-day African Energy Efficiency Conference has closed in Addis Ababa with stakeholders committing to strengthen clean technology value chains and scale up research and development in energy-efficient technologies across the continent.
In a communiqué issued on Thursday by the African Energy Commission (AFREC), participants pledged to establish industrial hubs and develop a skilled workforce to sustain Africa’s energy-efficiency agenda.
They further resolved to promote an enabling environment by harmonising energy-efficiency policies, guidelines and regulations to unlock investment needed to meet global efficiency targets, expand energy access and support Africa’s transition to a low-carbon future.
“We resolve to support the establishment and strengthening of national, regional and continental institutions to coordinate the implementation of energy efficiency programmes across the continent,” the communiqué reads.
The stakeholders reaffirmed commitments to scaling up efficiency initiatives across the electricity, industry, building, transport, agriculture and household appliance sectors.
They stressed the need to strengthen national energy information systems to improve reliability and comparability of data for regional and continental monitoring, guiding investment decisions and shaping policy.
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The communiqué reiterated Africa’s targets under the Africa Energy Efficiency Strategy (AfEES) to increase energy productivity by 50 percent by 2050 and 70 percent by 2063, aligned with the global pledge to double energy-efficiency improvements by 2030.
Stakeholders called for alignment of national and regional programmes with AfEES to ensure consistency with regional grid development and the integration of the continental electricity market under Agenda 2063.
They also pledged to mobilise technical and financial support for energy-efficiency initiatives and promote use of the Energy Capacity Building Information System to accelerate skills development for professionals across the continent.
The communiqué further reaffirmed support for AFREC’s work to enhance national and regional energy information systems, build institutional capacity for energy statistics, and operationalise the Africa Energy Efficiency Alliance (AfEEA) and the Africa Energy Efficiency Fund (AfEEF).
Participants also requested AFREC to institutionalise the African Energy Efficiency Conference and acknowledged partner support in mobilising resources for energy-efficiency programmes.
“We call for strengthened cooperation among all stakeholders under the AfEEA to accelerate implementation and scale impact across the continent,” the communiqué stated.
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