CALL FOR ACTION
Adopted at
The First Sustainable Energy Forum for East Africa
19-21 March 2018, Kigali, Rwanda
We, the Participants at the First Sustainable Energy Forum for East Africa held in Kigali, Rwanda from the 19th to 21st March 2018:
1. EXPRESS our profound gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Rwanda for hosting this First Sustainable Energy Forum for East Africa, and sincerely thank all the organizations and persons who were involved in organizing the Forum.
2. CALL UPON the governments of the EAC Partner States to strengthen individual and collective national commitments toward addressing the special energy and climate resilience needs of the East African region in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change,
3. RECOGNIZE the need for the EAC Partner States to enhance their cooperation and coordination, to have a greater regional voice in energy-related international forums and participate actively in regional and global decision-making processes aimed at addressing the global challenges facing our region in particular and mankind in general;
4. CALL UPON the EAC Partner States and Development Partners to strengthen the capacity of EACREEE to be the lead institution in the EAC region in promoting equitable universal access to modern, efficient, reliable, affordable, renewable energy to all households, businesses, industries and institutions in order to stimulate sustainable socio-economic development of the region;
5. URGE the EAC Partner States, in consultation with private and civil society organizations, to develop and implement a coherent regional renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy access policies, including integrated regional and national energy access strategies, which are aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, and seize this opportunity and leave no one behind.
6. CALL UPON the EAC Partner States to put in place an enabling environment to enhance public private partnerships for investments in grid extension, decentralized and distributed generation systems to increase rural electrification, energy efficiency and sustainable and inclusive industrialization.
7. CALL UPON the EAC Partner States to put in place mechanisms to reward good innovations in renewable energy and energy efficiency
8. CALL UPON the EAC Partner States, Development Partners, Civil Society Organizations and the Private Sector to promote use of low carbon and clean fuels and technologies for clean cooking, including LPG as a transition fuel.
9. CALL UPON all development partners to facilitate transfer and adaptation/adoption innovative technologies to leap frog EAC partners states to achieve SDG goal 7.
10. CALL UPON all relevant stakeholders to set up a Working Group on Sustainable Energy Financing (WG-SEF) that would provide an ongoing and open platform for exchange of information, best practices and solutions between EAC partner states to strengthen and coordinate pre-investment activities and financing solutions for SE initiatives and projects in the region.
11. CALL UPON Development Partners to support capacity building of local financial institutions on assessing renewable energy business plans and project risks, and sensitizing potential investors/entrepreneurs on conducting feasibility studies and preparation of bankable project documents.
12. CALL UPON the EAC Partner States and Development Partners to support gender-inclusive programmes specifically those aimed at empowering women, youth and the disadvantaged in sustainable energy entrepreneurship, productive uses of energy and strengthening their involvement in sustainable energy development leadership and workforce.
13. CALL UPON the EAC Partner States, Development Partners, Civil Society Organizations and the Private Sector to pursue initiatives such as energy efficiency, solar photovoltaic and thermal systems, waste-to-energy programmes and alternative transportation, geared toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal #11 (Sustainable Cities);
14. RECOGNIZE the great potentials of geothermal energy resources in the EAC region and CALL UPON EAC Partner States, Development Partners and the Private Sector to develop programmes to enhance capacity for exploitation of these resources; and
15. RESOLVE to establish the Sustainable Energy Forum for East Africa as a high level biennial event, to be hosted in any of the East African cities, with the objective of providing a platform for discussion on practical solutions to energy challenges in the EAC region and reviewing progress made.