Freetown, Sierra Leone, December 6, 2024: In a significant step toward addressing energy poverty, Ministers of Energy and Finance from six African nations, including Sierra Leone and Liberia, have endorsed the Freetown Declaration on Regional Collaboration for Scaling Distributed Renewable Energy. The announcement came at a ministerial workshop hosted in Sierra Leone in collaboration with the World Bank Group and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL).
The declaration calls for a collaborative platform to promote distributed renewable energy (DRE) solutions, aiming to expand energy access, create jobs, and attract private sector investments. Highlighting the initiative’s importance, Hon. Kandeh Yumkella, Chairman of Sierra Leone’s Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, stated, “Distributed renewable energy sources, such as mini grids, offer a fast, flexible, and cost-effective way to provide energy access to underserved communities.”
Tackling Regional Challenges Through Cooperation
With an estimated 220 million people in West and Central Africa lacking electricity, the declaration prioritizes scalable and efficient solutions. Robert R. Taliercio, the World Bank’s Country Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, emphasized the benefits of pooling regional resources, noting, “Regional aggregation can provide large enough demand to attract international private players to fragile countries at a lower cost.”
Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO of SEforALL, underscored the importance of progressive policies to achieve universal energy access, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 7. She commented, “Governments can enable the successful rollout of energy projects while incentivizing the private sector. I welcome this declaration for its focus on knowledge sharing and best practice exchange.”
Building on Prior Initiatives
The Freetown Declaration builds on efforts like the Dakar Call to Action, which aims to provide electricity to 85 million people annually. The Mission 300 initiative, launched by the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank, also aims to deliver electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030, with a focus on West and Central Africa.
This collaborative declaration marks a critical move toward addressing energy poverty, fostering economic growth, and enabling sustainable development across the region.
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