The course aimed at reinforcing the capacities of cities in three key climate change areas, namely mitigation, adaptation and access to energy. Cities were also invited to share their own experience in tackling challenges such as the conversion of waste into energy or construction material, or public lighting powered by solar panels, or support to young people’s entrepreneurship in projects related to energy access.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) presented a session on data collection, and the European Union Delegation in Senegal led a discussion on EU funding mechanisms. Other trainers were provided by CoM SSA partner organisations, most of them based in Africa, such as ENDA Energie (based in Senegal), Sustainable Energy Africa (SEA) and ICLEI-Africa (both based in South Africa). ADEME (France), CICLIA and ADENE (Portugal), two specialised governmental agencies, provided experts to contribute to the training.

The course resulted in initiating a climate and sustainable energy strategy at municipal level and in identifying potential response actions. The cities' staff gained a better understanding of adaptation issues within municipal boundaries thanks to the training on vulnerability assessment and greenhouse gas emissions inventory methods.

Participants at the CoM SSA course in Saly in September

For more information, see the CoM SSA website.