Energy statistics are critical to support data-driven decision making and policy development in the energy sector in Africa. They allow for the analysis of current and historical trends, but also lay the foundations for prospective analysis and integrated energy planning, approaches that have gained in importance as African governments begin to combine their energy sector development strategies with long-term considerations on climate change mitigation and adaptation. Despite their importance, many countries struggle to generate comprehensive, reliable and timely statistics as a result of lack of resources or capacity, limited availability of input data, or other challenges.

Supported by the African Energy Commission (AFREC), IED launched a project this month to assess these challenges and support the development of energy statistics capacity in African Union member states. 11 countries - Algeria, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe – were selected for participation in the four-month pilot phase of the project, which aims to develop a methodology that can be rolled out to other African Union member states in the future.

For each participating country, IED will undertake a diagnostic analysis through documentary analysis and stakeholder interviews, with the objective of developing a strategy and action plan to improve national energy statistics. Based on the findings of the diagnostic, IED will also develop a capacity building programme tailored to each country’s specific needs, composed of six short-term training courses.

The project kick-off was held via videoconference in early February and gathered energy statistics focal points from all 11 participating countries to discuss the project objectives and implementation programme, as well common challenges and visions for energy statistics development on the African continent. The focal points expressed strong enthusiasm for the project and are already participating actively in exchanges and diagnostic interviews with the consultants. Bravo to all of the statistics teams for the work you do and we look forward to working with you !

SUNREF Côte d'Ivoire is a system of loans and investment bonuses intended to finance Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy projects led by private sector actors.    Following SUNREF West Africa, AFD signed new guarantee agreements  with the banks  Société Generale CI and NSIA for the opening  of new green finance lines for a  total amount of €17 million.

In order to highlight the importance of mobilizing companies and the private sector in the energy transition, the Technical Assistance of the Sunref  program is entrusted  by AFD to the General Confederation of Enterprises of Côte d'Ivoire. IED and GINGER-BURGEAP  have joined forces to support CGE-CI  in the coordination and animation of the program. In particular, it is planned to inform and support project leaders on the Sunref system and for the technical and financial set-up of their financing application files. The partner banks and CGE-CI will also be  made aware of the markets and technical devices of renewable energies and energy efficiency.

SUNREF CI Technical Assistance is scheduled  until January 2024.

Benefiting from the support of AFD - Agence Française de Développement,  IED (Innovation Energie Développement)  Consult has partnered with Artelys to support the strategic development of Cambodia's energy sector as part of its Long-Term National Strategy for Carbon Neutrality by 2050.

In line with the commitments adopted during the COP26 - UN Climate Change Conference, Cambodia submitted its strategy (LTS4CN) to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on 30 December 2021.

The Phnom Penh Post of January 01, 2022 relays this good news for the climate: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cambodia-one-just-49-countries-submit-climate-strategy-un

This fall, IED Consult partnered with Artelys to support the development of Cambodia’s energy sector strategy as a part of the country’s National Long-Term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality.

Cambodia launched the preparation of the Long-Term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality (LTS4CN) ahead of its participation in the COP26 climate negotiations. Led by the country’s National Council on Sustainable Development at the request of His Excellency Prime Minister Hun Sen, the LTS4CN is a vision-setting exercise to imagine an ambitious, realistic pathway for Cambodia to both meet its development objectives and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

IED and Artelys developed the LTS4CN energy pathways in collaboration with other sectoral expert teams and national stakeholders, using a customised version of the Climate and Energy Policy Impact Assessment (CEPIA) tool fully adapted to the Cambodian national context with support from the Agence Française de Développement. The Draft Long-Term Strategy was finalized in November and is currently undergoing review by the various responsible line ministries.

While energy accounts for less than 10% of Cambodia’s GHG emissions today, the future development of the sector is critical to Cambodia’s climate change mitigation strategy, given the massive growth expected in demand for energy services such as cooling, mobility, or productive uses over the coming decades.  In a no-change scenario, the energy sector is expected to become the largest emitter of greenhouse gases by 2050, accounting for over half of total emissions.  The challenge is therefore to limit emissions from the sector over the long-term, while still ensuring that all of the energy needs of the country’s population and rapidly developing economy are sufficiently and affordably met.

To achieve this, the energy sector pathways developed for the LTS4CN were based on three main pillars: (1) investing in energy efficiency and conservation; (2) transitioning fossil fuels used in transportation and industrial processes to less carbon-intensive sources, including electricity and sustainable biomass; and (3) reducing emissions from the power sector, in particular by increasing the penetration of renewable energies. To ensure that the energy sector vision is fully actionable and can be driven by decisions made at the national level, all of the actions considered in the strategy focused on the deployment of proven, widely available technologies, leaving space for potential additional emissions reductions if and when emerging technologies are included in the approach.

IED Consult and Artelys will continue to support energy and climate policy development in Cambodia over the coming months, through an ongoing technical assistance project with the General Department of Policy in Cambodia’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) that uses the CEPIA modelling tool and long-term scenarios to contribute to multisectoral policy dialogue in the energy sector.  This project is financed by AFD’s 2050 Facility and is expected to complete in 2022.