ECOWAS Workshop on Energy Policy Tools of the Global Energy Assessment

 E C R E E E , in partnership with the United Nations I n d u s t r i a l Devel opmen t Orga n i z a t ion (UNIDO) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) organized a one-day workshop on key findings and tools of the Global Energy A s s e s s m e n t (GEA). The workshop was held on 12 April 2012 in Praia, Cape Verde, with support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The workshop was attended by more than 60 energy experts and policy makers from the ECOWAS region.The workshop considered the key findings of the GEA which was published during Rio+20. The GEA report examines: (a) the major global challenges and their linkages to energy; (b) the technologies and resources available for providing adequate, modern and affordable forms of energy; (c) the plausible structure of future energy systems most suited to addressing the century’s challenges; and (d) the policies and measures, institutions and capacities needed to realize sustainable energy futures.Moreover, the participants were introduced to several GEA energy planning tools which allow policy makers in West Africa to model their own sustainable energy scenarios for their respective countries. The tools consider multiple energy sustainability objectives (security of energy supply, climate change mitigation and air pollution reduction), as well as policy scenarios that achieve universal modern energy access objectives by 2030. The workshop in Cape Verde was the first of three capacity building workshops UNIDO/ IIASA are organizing in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The summary of the GEA report is available for download at web portal http://www.iiasa.ac.at.