Tanzania Forum, December 2013

In December 2013, we held our latest Parliamentary Forum - a two day event designed to bring together MPs, national Ministers, policy experts, public development agencies and leading citizens’ groups. The meeting, jointly organised by the Climate Parliament and the United Nations Development Programme, took place in Tanzania, on December 13th – 15th 2013, and convened legislators from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East for a debate on how MPs can attract investment for mini grids and off-grid renewable energy projects in their countries. 

 To read a full report on the Forum, including overviews of all presentations, a detailed programme, and details of the policy pledges and participant list, follow this link.  

 The event brought together some 40 key Members of Parliament from less-industrialised countries rich in renewable potential together with policy experts, development agencies, investment analysts and programme leaders who have pioneered successful off-grid renewable energy access schemes. 

 MPs have a key role in generating international action at the speed and scale needed. Legislative and regulatory action is required to create robust policy frameworks and efficient economic incentives to encourage mini-grid development. As trail-blazing projects in South Asia and Africa have shown, parliamentary initiatives have the power to turn renewable energy into a powerful tool of sustainable development for all; our Tanzania forum explored these and other ways to use clean energy to fight poverty with power. In particular, we focused on:  

• Creating self-sustaining, self-financing renewable energy programmes through targeted legislation and/or regulatory reform. 

• Weaning off-grid renewable energy away from dependence on government funding or international development assistance, and building commercial viability. 

• Legislating for sustainable entrepreneurship: what laws or policies are required to encourage local individuals or businesses to expand into the renewable energy marketplace? 

• Replacing diesel generators with clean, reliable renewable energy alternatives.

 The meeting featured a dynamic, participant-led format, where legislators engaged in roundtable debates and discussions with each other and with experts from multilateral agencies and other organisations. The focus was on key points for policy and legislation in each country, including presentations from key experts and those who have experience of organising successful energy access schemes.