Universal Climate Agreement : Gearing up for COP21!

From the 30^th of November to the 11^th of December 2015, France will be hosting and presiding over the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21-UNFCCC) otherwise known as “Paris 2015”. 

The upcoming COP21 is expected to be a landmark meeting because global atmospheric temperatures have increased and continue to do so beyond unprecedented levels that have widespread impacts on human and natural systems. At COP21, very many issues will be discussed with the main aim of reaching for the first time in history, a universal and legally binding agreement that will enable us to combat climate change effectively and boost the transition towards climate resilient low-carbon societies and economies.

As a regional institution of the ECOWAS established “to contribute to the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of West Africa by improving access to modern, reliable and affordable energy services, energy security and reduction of energy related externalities (GHG & local pollution)", ECREEE will be sending a delegation to Paris. The role of the delegation will be manifold. One will be to showcase ECREEE’s activities globally, the second will be to get firsthand information on the aspirations and agreements on climate change by the developing, emergent or industrialized countries that will be present at the negotiations. The delegation will also seek to contribute to the debate by exchanging ideas and interacting with Climate Change experts, but most importantly, showcase ECREEEs programs and activities as contributing to both Climate Change mitigation and adaptation.

Despite contributing minimally to global CO2 emissions the impact of Climate Change in the ECOWAS region is becoming more experiential and more intertwined with the region’s economic and developmental challenges. In view of the high vulnerability of the region to climate change and the urgent need for access to reliable and affordable energy supply, ECREEE recognizes that Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency projects help address Climate Change and actively participating at COP21 provides an excellent platform to reiterate the contribution of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency to climate protection.

ECREEE will be participating in several sessions and events relevant to its mandate and will also host a number of side events in collaboration with it partners. Some of the  events scheduled include:

• Presentation at the ECOWAS side event to showcase ECREEE  Climate Change Program- ECCP and other programs.

• The ‘Situation Analysis of Energy and Gender Issues in ECOWAS Member States’ will also be launched during this session. According to the study, women, in general, continue to be outside the decision making sphere of energy access issues. The study also revealed that, although, women are disproportionately more affected by climate change, yet they possess relatively limited influence on key decisions on matters relating to climate change. The study laid the groundwork for the development of the ECOWAS Policy for Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Access.

• The NAMA fair to Pledge support for the implementation of the NAMA in The Gambia on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

• Africa Pavilion Side event hosted by ECREEE on  “Advancing Low Carbon Development in West Africa”.

• The Africa Day side event hosted by AUC  on - “A New Climate Agreement: Implications and Prospects for Africa”.

• AfDB Side Event -  Getting Africa ready for the 2015 Agreement: Role of regional and international organizations.

• In collobariton with the Agence de l'Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l'Énergie (ADEME) organize a side evevnt on energy efficincy in buildings. During this side event, the ECOWAS Regional Directive for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (EDEEB) will be presented. The Directive aims to ensure minimum energy efficiency performance standards and a common general framework to calculate energy performance of buildings are put in place.The Directive will also establish minimum requirements for a buildings energy performance including minimum requirements for renewable energy sources to be used in buildings and will put in place energy certification of buildings. The implemenation of the Directive will also ensure that buildings in West Africa also incorporate the principles of tropical architecture. The implmenation of the EDEEB is expected to be part of the contributions of West African countries to the global agreements on emission reductions.

• In addition ECREEE will attend the launch of the 1 Gigaton Coalition report. The 1 giga ton coalition is a international framework to increase efforts to measure and report reduced GHG emissions resulting from renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives and programs in developing countries. ECREEE will join the coalition  and will support the coalitions activities at the COP21.

• ECREEE will also taking part at the high level segments and stating its contributions to the global climate change response.

for more information contact; Adeola Adebiyi or John Yeboah

e-mail: aadebiyi@ecreee.org & jyeboah@ecreee.org