INFORSE West Africa is involved in an advocacy project to improve policies for renewable energy and energy efficiency. The project will strengthen the implementation of regionally agreed policies in West Africa for renewable energy and energy efficiency. It will focus on how the strategies contribute to pro-poor climate change mitigation through access to sustainable energy. The background is that a number of strategies have been agreed regionally by for instance the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), but national implementation lags behind. The project will run from the start of 2016 until the end of 2018.

The implementation of the regional strategies shall be strengthened by increasing knowledge and ownership of the policies amongst civil society actors, private sector actors and decision-makers nationally and regionally in ECOWAS member countries.

During 2016, the project is analysing national practices and identifying best practices in seven countries.

Then national civil society organisations? knowledge and capacity to conduct advocacy for clean energy will be improved, and national coalitions and cooperation on advocacy will be strengthened as well, in particular in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal.

During 2017 and 2018, the project focuses on increasing national and regional advocacy. This will be towards national decision-makers and the regional ECOWAS institutions.

The project is financed by The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the CISU Fund for Climate and Environment.

Launch of the seven national analysis and the regional analysis is expected in the beginning of 2017.

Partners:

SustainableEnergy: sustainableenergy.dk/west-africa

ENDA, Senegal: endaenergie.org/wp1/accelerating-implementation-of-regional-policies-on-clean-energy-in-west-africa/

Mali Folkecenter Nyetaa: www.malifolkecenter.org/

CEAS: www.ceas-burkina.org/projets/