From 8 to 11 December 2025, UNEP-U4E took part in the Inaugural African Energy Efficiency Alliance Conference (AfEEC 2025) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The event brought together African governments, regional institutions, and international partners to reaffirm energy efficiency as a cornerstone of Africa’s sustainable energy future. U4E’s participation reflected not only its engagement in the conference itself, but also more than a decade of sustained technical support to several countries and regions across the continent on energy efficiency.

UNEP-U4E’s Patrick Blake provides Keynote Presentation on ‘Appliance Efficiency as a Driver for Economic Growth and Climate Resilience in Africa’ along with speakers from South Africa, Algeria, SACREEE and CLASP.

 AfEEC 2025 combined high-level policy dialogue with technical exchanges focused on accelerating the development and implementation of energy efficiency policies. U4E contributed to discussions on appliances efficiency, regulatory frameworks, and financing mechanisms, including sessions linked to the Africa Energy Efficiency Facility, a G20 legacy initiative developed with UNEP’s support. The conference also included technical meetings reviewing AFREC’s Handbook on the Development and Implementation of Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) in Africa, to which U4E contributed as a technical reviewer. 

U4E has established a strong and sustained presence across Africa through a range of national and regional initiatives. In Nigeria, U4E has supported policymakers and regulators in establishing MEPS for room air conditioners, strengthening monitoring, verification and enforcement capacities, addressing end-of-life management of air conditioners and refrigerants, and delivering public awareness campaigns in partnership with national media, while also contributing cooling-related recommendations to the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

Dr. Meseret Zemedkun, Head of UNEP Southern Africa Office moderates session on ‘Accelerating Investment and Action to drive efficiency progress through the African Energy Efficiency Facility’.

In The Gambia, U4E supported the development of an integrated policy framework to leapfrog the market toward energy-efficient and climate-friendly room air conditioners and residential refrigerators. This work included a detailed market assessment to inform policy decisions, the development of MEPS and energy labelling schemes, and the formulation of a National Cooling Action Plan (NCAP). The project also placed strong emphasis on capacity building, including study tours and technical support for the national policy working group and key institutions such as the Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Mines (MOPEM). 

U4E’s work in Rwanda has focused on enabling the deployment of energy-efficient and climate-friendly cooling through the development and implementation of MEPS and energy labelling programmes for air conditioners and refrigerators, aligned with recently approved harmonised East African Community (EAC) standards. A key pillar of this initiative has been the promotion of sustainable cold-chain solutions to reduce food loss, increase farmer incomes, and strengthen healthcare resilience. 

UNEP-U4E’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment expert (middle) instructing technicians and engineers on end-of-life management of Air Conditioners during a workshop at Government Technical College, Kano State, Nigeria.

In North Africa, U4E has supported the transformation of Tunisia’s lighting market through the “Leapfrogging Tunisia’s Lighting Market to High-Efficiency Technologies” project. This initiative promotes the rapid uptake of energy-efficient lighting by supporting the introduction of MEPS and energy labelling, strengthening monitoring, verification and enforcement capacities, developing complementary policies, and establishing frameworks for environmentally sound management. 

At the regional level, U4E has worked closely with the SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE) and the East African Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Efficiency (EACREEE) to support the development of harmonised MEPS for room air conditioners and residential refrigerators across Southern and East African Regions. The work encompassed the preparation of a regional market assessment, development of technical notes and MEPS, and was underpinned by extensive consultations with regional and national technical committees and relevant government stakeholders. 

Visit to the Hisense stores during a study tour to Ghana to enhance the knowledge of Gambian officials on implementing Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for room air conditioners and residential refrigerators.

As a result, the SADC region finalised its harmonised MEPS in November 2023, with standards circulated for national adoption in February 2024, alongside targeted national support to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe. In the EAC, harmonised MEPS were approved in March 2025 and gazetted in July 2025, with a six-month adoption period granted to Member States to domesticate the MEPS by February 2026. Importantly, these regional standards go beyond energy efficiency alone, incorporating limits on the Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) of refrigerants, reinforcing alignment with global climate and environmental commitments. 

As countries and regional institutions continue to position energy efficiency as Africa’s “first fuel,” U4E remains committed to working alongside governments and partners to scale practical, high-impact solutions—supporting stronger policies, better enforcement, and faster market transition to efficient and climate-friendly technologies. 

To learn more about U4E’s work on energy-efficient lighting, appliances and equipment in Africa, please contact Patrick Blake (patrick.blake@un.org).