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From national commitments to local investment, Senegal’s green energy ambition
How can Senegal turn its climate and biodiversity commitments into projects that deliver affordable energy, jobs and economic opportunities across the country?
That was a central question during discussions in Dakar on 2 and 3 September, as Climate Parliament, United Nations Industrial Development Organizations (UNIDO), parliamentarians and government officials explored how renewable energy, biodiversity conservation and climate finance can support Senegal's economic development.
The discussions formed part of the Parliamentarians for Climate Finance project, funded by the Green Climate Fund and implemented by Climate Parliament in partnership with UNIDO. The two-day programme began with a meeting between Climate Parliament Secretary General Sergio Missana, Lea Hillaireau, Managing Director, Senegal National Coordinator Mohamed Diedhiou and Ali Gori Diouf, Minister of Environment and Ecological Transition of Senegal.
The discussion focused on how Green Energy Constituencies (GEC) developed by Climate Parliament MPs in collaboration with UNIDO, could help turn Senegal's national climate and biodiversity ambitions into concrete projects and investment at local level.
Bringing green energy to every constituency
The GEC concept is based on a simple idea to connect renewable energy with the needs and economic opportunities of communities across Senegal. Renewable energy could support industries and small and medium sized businesses as well as essential services such as schools, health centres, cooling systems and cold chains.
The aim is to make clean energy part of local economic development, supporting productive activity, creating jobs and keeping the value chain within the local communities. The approach also connects energy investment with biodiversity. Potential projects could include clean cooking solutions that reduce pressure on forests and deforestation, as well as agroforestry and ecotourism initiatives that create economic value around biodiversity.
This creates an opportunity to strengthen how communities and governments approach conservation. Protecting forests and wildlife can support jobs, generate income and build long-term resilience across communities. For Senegal the bigger question is how to turn these opportunities into projects that can attract finance. The country has set out its ambitions through its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). GECs could help translate those national commitments into projects rooted in local priorities and with genuine potential to attract investment.
The Minister highlighted this potential, including the idea of a national Green Energy Constituency Fund based on a mix of public and private investment. Such a fund could help attract private sector investment into green and climate resilient projects across the country. He also highlighted the potential for the model to be replicated across Senegal’s constituencies.
A role for parliamentarians
The discussion continued on 2 September at Senegal’s National Assembly, where Sergio and Lea joined members of the PCF steering committee to discuss lessons from the project’s first phase and the outlook for its second phase. They discussed the role parliamentarians can play creating the political, regulatory and financial conditions needed for climate investment. Affordable and reliable energy, jobs, economic opportunities and a healthy environment are issues that matter across political parties and across constituencies. That shared interest could give parliamentarians a practical role in identifying opportunities in their constituencies while supporting policy and helping build the conditions for investment at national level.
From constituency to industrial zone
The following day, around 35 parliamentarians and government officials visited Diamniado International Industrial Platform. The visit brought the discussions about renewable energy and investment into an industrial setting. Diamniado represents Senegal’s strategy to develop modern and competitive industrial ecosystems that support Senegalese entrepreneurs and is orientated towards export. The visit also highlighted how large renewable energy installation can reduce the cost of electricity and in turn increase industrial competitiveness. It also provided a practical context for discussing Green Energy Zones (GEZ), a priority geographic area identified by government, where conditions favourable to investment in renewable energy and green industry are established.
The visit gave parliamentarians an opportunity to better understand the industrial sector and the energy challenges that businesses face whilst exploring how renewable energy could support green investment.
The concept connects energy infrastructure, investment and industrial development within a defined geographic area. In an industrial setting such as Diamniado that means looking at how renewable energy can help businesses become more competitive while reducing emissions.
The discussions in Dakar have highlighted a shared challenge across all actors. Moving from national commitments and policy intentions to projects that can attract finance and produce real results on the ground, requires sustained effort. GEZs offer one approach at the level of industrial and economic clusters. GECs offer another, connecting renewable energy and essential services with productive activity and economic opportunity for communities across the country, whilst also protecting the biodiversity that underpins long-term resilience. Both approaches put geography at the centre of the investment question.
For Senegal the opportunity is to connect these ideas with the country's climate and biodiversity commitments and develop projects that are locally relevant, economically productive and capable of attracting investment. The next phase of the PCF project will build on the lessons from this first stage and continue exploring how parliamentarians can help create the conditions for this investment.
