An inspiring training session in Malawi
The African Energy Commission (AFREC) and the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) recently organised a four-day workshop on Modelling Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Salima, Malawi, from 9 to 12 May 2023. This workshop served as a follow-up to a series of online training workshops under the theme "Modelling energy and climate strategies" as part of the NDC Support Centre* programme for Malawi.
The training focused on increasing the capacity of policymakers and government staff in energy and GHG emissions modelling. In this way, the workshop also contributed to the implementation of the national NDC model and encouraged knowledge exchange in this crucial area.
Workshop Malawi
A captivating workshop in Uganda
Analogous to the workshop in Malawi, a four-day training workshop on Energy and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Modelling also took place in Entebbe, Uganda from 16 to 19 May 2023. The training marks an important step towards sustainable energy planning and climate action in the African country.
This training workshop builds on the success of a series of online sessions under the theme "Energy & Climate Strategy Modelling," as part of Uganda's NDC Support Centre programme. The primary objective of the workshop was to help policymakers and government staff better understand the fundamental concepts of energy and greenhouse gas emissions modelling.
In this way, the training workshop was tailored to different purposes:
- Supporting the effective implementation of the national NDC model.
- Establishing crucial links between AFREC's energy statistics questionnaires and energy modelling for NDC development.
- Promoting the exchange of advanced knowledge and experience in energy and GHG emissions modelling.
Workshop Uganda
Words of gratitude
During the workshop, Mr Abdoulaye Oueddo, Senior Policy Officer at AFREC, expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development of Uganda for their unwavering commitment to the success of the NDC Support Centre project. He also acknowledged VITO's indispensable contribution and efforts during the two-year collaboration.
Furthermore, the Senior Policy Officer expressed optimism for the continuation of the partnership and the provision of essential decision-making tools to African energy experts.
The NDC’s Support Centre’s dedication to Energy and Climate Modelling
Both workshops are part of the ongoing phase of the NDC Support Centre programme, which focuses on Energy and Climate Modelling. The trainings provide the participants with comprehensive knowledge on a variety of key topics. These include the value of energy modelling for policy development, different energy modelling families, strengths and weaknesses of different modelling tools, methodological frameworks for effective modelling, and last but not least advanced analytical skills to develop and interpret energy and climate scenarios.
The NDC Climate Building programme on energy statistics and modelling are jointly implemented by AFREC and VITO. These initiatives underscore the commitment to strengthening capacities and promoting sustainable energy planning and climate action in Uganda and Malawi.
VITO therefore expressed its pride and honour to be able to support these capacity-building efforts. Together with the other partners, VITO strongly emphasised the importance of these initiatives in facilitating informed decision-making, as well as in promoting a sustainable, resilient, and bright future for Africa.
*The NDC Support Centre was established with the financial support from the Government of Flanders – Departement Omgeving (Belgium) through the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO). The NDC Support Center also benefits from technical support from CO2Logic, a carbon and environmental consultancy company, which is part of the implementing consortium together with AFREC and VITO.