The Regional Energy Efficiency Conference (REEC) was held on 04-05 December 2024 at the Pan-African Postal Union (PAPU) Tower in Arusha, Tanzania. The event was attended by Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and Officers from the Ministries of Energy and Ministries of Environment from EAC and SADC Partner States. The conference was organised by Ministry of Energy Tanzania in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the European Union, and the Embassy of Ireland.
The theme of the conference was “Advancing Energy Efficiency for Sustainable Development”. The aim of REEC was to facilitate knowledge exchange, share best practices, and build collaborative networks among member states of the East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC). The Guest of Honour was Hon. Dr. Doto Mashaka Biteko, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Tanzania. He welcomed the participants to Tanzania and indicated the government willingness to advance energy efficiency in Tanzania following the global commitment on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) especially SDG 7.
Denis Ariho, Lead Technical Expert for EAC, Energy Efficient Lighting and Appliances (EELA) Project in East and Southern Africa represented United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and East African Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Efficiency (EACREEE) at the conference and presented the EELA Project achievements in the Ministerial Panel Discussion (Panel Discussion 1) on “Energy Efficiency Policies, Strategies, Action Plans, and Lessons Learned” and panel discussion 2 on “Discussion on Development and Implementation of Energy Efficiency Practices including Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) and Energy Performance Certificates (EPC)”. The discussion focussed on “Development of EAC Energy Efficiency Policy, Development of EAC and SADC regional MEPS for lighting and cooling appliances, Development of Regional Compliance Framework for Energy Efficiency Policies, Development of Regional Public Procurement Guidelines, Capacity building, EELA Technical Assistance and Co-financing Facility, Awareness creation, among others.
During the Conference, the government of Tanzania launched the National Energy Efficiency Strategy (2024-2034). East African Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Efficiency (EACREEE) and SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE) received awards for the great support towards the organisation of Regional Energy Efficiency Conference.
The outcomes of the conference include: Improve the policy and regulatory environment for energy efficiency; Establish affordable financing for energy efficiency; increase in awareness on energy efficiency; capacity building; regional harmonisation of energy efficiency policies, standards, labels; increase targets for energy efficiency by EAC and SADC Partner States, etc.
For further information, please contact:
Karin Reiss-Haimbala: k.reiss@unido.org
