Background

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (known as UEMOA, derived from its French name, Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine) is an organisation of eight fast-growing West African states. Their pace of development means that these countries are facing electricity shortages. Energy Efficiency (EE) offers an opportunity for cutting peak loads, and EE labelling for appliances is one of the most cost-effective tools governments have for promoting it.

Due to the limited resources available at national level, it makes sense to establish a solid framework for appliance EE labelling at the UEMOA regional level, first establishing a voluntary programme that individual countries could then enact and begin to enforce.

Purpose

To assist with the establishment of a regional UEMOA EE labelling scheme for household appliances including air conditioners, refrigerators and lighting.

Main Activities

• Review international labelling programmes for household appliances, and assess all existing national frameworks for promoting EE labelling in UEMOA
• Estimate the potential energy savings and GHG emissions reduction to be achieved, based on data gathered from countries
• Design and validate a voluntary EE labelling programme for household appliances
• Identify potential technical laboratories in UEMOA zone that could be candidates for testing household electrical appliances
• Organise and hold trainings and consultative workshops to build capacity in the national standards bodies and Ministries of Energy
• Assess potential for regional cooperation with other ECOWAS member countries (Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone)

Expected Impact

• Voluntary labelling programme designed for implementation in each UEMOA member country by relevant bodies
• Governments enabled to quickly enforce the EE labelling regulations at the national level
• National standards bodies, Ministries of Energy and relevant government agencies trained for the introduction of EE appliance labelling
• Importers, distributors and dealers agreed to join the voluntary EE labelling
• Reduced volume in the import of second hand household electrical appliances
• GHG emission reduced in the region, leading to mitigation of climate change negative impacts