ICLEI Africa is re-energising and expanding its climate programme to work more definitively on city-wide sustainable energy issues including climate change mitigation in the African context. Climate change adaption issues will also be tackled from an African perspective.

ICLEI Africa also aims to work with more cities in the African region through the development of key partnerships across the continent. African local governments pledged their commitment and support to address sustainable energy and climate change at the UCLGA First Ordinary Congress held in Accra, Ghana in July 2008, where ICLEI Africa co-hosted a dedicated Commission on Energy and Climate Change with UCLGA.

ICLEI Africa is in the process of establishing new and further developing existing partnerships to develop and implement an African Cities Climate & Energy (ACCE) Network. The ACCE Network will build the capacity of the partner cities on benefits of addressing sustainable energy and climate change issues in terms of preparedness, reduction in energy consumption and long term cost savings in an African context. Implementation of action plans mobilised and resourced through the Network will build awareness and understanding of tangible local benefits, which in turn, will provide a growing basis for the implementation of further projects.

Capacity building remains a key focus area of our work, particularly in the relatively new field of energy and climate change at the local level. ICLEI Africa, in partnership with UNEP and UN-HABITAT, is currently developing a handbook on sustainable energy and climate protection, aimed at local authorities specifically in a developing world context.

ICLEI Africa will also attempt to enable local government on the African continent to maximise their involvement in the climate debates towards the new treaty due to enter into force by 2013 at national and global level. Local governments are calling for a framework that will achieve a reduction of 60% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 1990 levels by 2050 globally. More than 75% of all energy is consumed in urban centres where over half of the world’s population lives and where 80% of GHG emissions are produced. Local governments are positioned between the population and the national government. As the government sphere closest to the people, local governments play a decisive role in actual implementation, delivering services, planning, local economic development and public education.

Key Partner Links

Sustainable Energy Africa (SEA)
United Cities for Local Governments - Africa (UCLGA)

Sustainable Urban Energy Planning Handbook

ICLEI Africa, in partnership with various role-players, have completed developing, and are in the process of distributing, a new climate mitigation tool aimed at local governments. The mitigation tool, Sustainable Urban Energy Planning: A Handbook for Cities and Towns in Developing Countries, has been developed in cooperation with UN-HABITAT and UNEP and gives a comprehensive overview of Sustainable Urban Energy planning and implementation in developing countries at the local government level. You can download the tool here.

This tool is also available on the UN-HABITAT website.