ABU DHABI COMMUNIQUÉ ON RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR

We, Ministers of Energy and heads of delegations of African countries and the African Union

Commission and the Conference of Energy Ministers of Africa (CEMA), met at the invitation

of IRENA in Abu Dhabi, UAE, 08-09 July 2011, hosted by the UAE Government. Participants

included regional economic communities, national bodies, international partners, UN-

Economic Commission for Africa, EU-Africa Energy partnership, World Bank, UNIDO, UNEP, UN-

Habitat, Global Environment Facility, Paris-Nairobi Climate Initiative, key energy companies,

NGOs research agencies and others.

Our discussions were guided by the February 2009 African Union Assembly of Heads of State

and Government decision to: “develop renewable energy resources in order to provide

clean, reliable, affordable and environmentally friendly energy,” (Assembly/AU/Decl. 9-XII)

and the November 2010 Maputo Declaration of the Conference of Energy Ministers of Africa

to “promote renewable energy in a joint effort with others to … address all issues relating to

climate change…”

We were also informed by the Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate

Change Mitigation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as well as IRENA’s

report, Scenarios and Strategies for Africa, which provide compelling evidence of the serious

energy challenges faced by the region.

At a time of economic growth and opportunity in Africa, meeting energy needs and

addressing the challenge of energy access and energy security is an issue of primary

signiﬁcance for Africa, in order to mitigate the negative effects of price volatility, supply

insecurity and environmental degradation.

We also recognize the signiﬁcant potential of renewable energy to accelerate African low

carbon development and address climate change mitigation and adaptation. Achieving

these outcomes will require:

o Assessment of existing conditions and needs and building regional cooperation in

order to address those needs and opportunities

o Strengthening national, regional and continental policy frameworks to stimulate

investment in and ensure sustainable deployment of renewable energy

o Supporting research and development on RE technology and innovation within the

continent and through South-South cooperation.

ABU DHABI COMMUNIQUÉ ON RENEWABLE ENERGY

FOR ACCELERATING AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT

IRENA-Africa High-Level Consultations

on Partnership on Accelerating Renewable Energy

Uptake for Africa’s Sustainable Development,

08-09 July 2011

The African continent sees great promise in working with IRENA, whose Assembly has given

it a strong mandate regionally and globally to support member states in accelerating the

adoption of renewable energy.

CONSIDERING THE ABOVE, WE HAVE AGREED THE FOLLOWING:

i. We are launching a concerted effort among all participating governments, agencies,

non-governmental bodies and the private sector to promote intensiﬁed utilization

of Africa’s vast renewable energy resources for accelerating Africa’s development,

considering the need to:

a. ensure that IRENA’s policy for Africa responds to the priority concerns of the

continent.

b. ensure a well-integrated IRENA programme for Africa, which will cooperate

closely with the AUC, CEMA, RECs, national governments and all other partners,

c. develop a concrete and practical approach to supporting the knowledge,

technology, capacity and policy needs of African countries.

ii. A crucial ﬁrst step will be to better understand the opportunities and constraints in our

countries and regions by mapping “Renewable Energy Readiness”, a collaborative

process that will provide a rapid, objective assessment of the status of renewable

energy opportunities, and identify pathways to address gaps. We urge governments

and other stakeholders to participate in design and implementation of this initiative.

iii. We will further engage with IRENA, as the key inter-governmental forum on renewable

energy, in providing a platform for charting collaborative action strategies for

accelerating implementation of African policies, and initiatives on renewable energy,

focusing in particular on:

a. Improving policy frameworks to ensure investment grade public/private ﬁnancing,

while taking into account special measures needed to ensure social inclusion

b. Brokering services in capacity building including for entrepreneurs in renewable

energy

c. Cooperation on technology and innovation to enhance endogenous human

and physical capacity to accommodate expanded renewables deployment

d. Fostering regional and local level renewable energy technology production and

service industries

e. Supporting communication campaigns to promote uptake of renewable energy.

iv. Participants urged IRENA, in its messages to the international community at CoP-17,

Rio+20 and other major events, to build on this communiqué and emphasize the

following:

a. Providing strategic support for renewable energy in the context of the Green

Economy, including assessment of the impact of market distorting subsidies that

inhibit the deployment of renewable energy; targeted studies on employment

implications of expanded renewables deployment, policies for employment

creation through renewable energy and related themes,

b. advocating increased international support to Africa on technical capacity

building, policy advisory services, investment ﬁnancing tools and industrial

strategies for accelerating renewable energy up-take, while ensuring adequate

provision of domestic resources

c. Using the 2012 International Year of Sustainable Energy for All to carry forward

Africa’s renewable energy strategies.

v. We agree to work towards formalizing IRENA’s strategic presence in Africa and

concretizing institutional arrangements for cooperation with African regional bodies

and strategic partners in the sector; furthermore, we urge all African states who have

not done so to become full members of IRENA.

vi. We shall extend full cooperation and support to IRENA to ensure it fulﬁls its critical

mandate to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy globally, and to work

together to make Africa a lead region in the transition to renewable energy.

Abu Dhabi, UAE, 09 July 2011

IRENA Secretariat C67 Office Building, Khalidiyah (32

) Street

P.O. Box 236, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates