The 22nd Conference of the Parties began on November 7th in Marrakech. By November 18th, it will have hosted 25,000 participants. This is what is at stake: to materialise the decisions that were made a year ago through the Paris Agreement. Together with its partners, the AIMF and the ADEME, the Veolia Foundation will be attending so as to proceed with the official launch of the “Women and Sustainable Energy” project.
On Saturday November 12th at 11:30 am, partners of the REFELA-CAM (Local Elected Women’s Network of Cameroon) got together at the COP22 and officially launched a sustainable energy pilot project for Africa. The ceremony took place in the presence of COP22 Chairperson and French Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy Ségolène Royal.
Together with the ADEME* and the AIMF**, the Veolia Foundation is committed to a project for the production and distribution of renewable electricity in Cameroon. Two cities in the western part of country will host local production and sustainable energy projects developed by the REFELA-CAM and supported by the Veolia Foundation. The projects should lead to the installation of a public lighting network powered by solar energy in both cities, as well as the creation of a small hydroelectric power station in Bangangté.
Those infrastructures are built as part of a “network” approach. Pilot projects will be shared between all municipalities, and training sessions about boosting technical support and municipal contracting will be held by REFELA-CAM. Any spinoffs stemming from this innovative project could ultimately benefit thousands of Cameroonians.
During the COP22 and in the presence of Ségolène Royal, Veolia Foundation Managing Director Thierry Vandevelde met with Bangangté Mayor and REFELA-CAM Chairperson Célestine Ketcha Kourtes, ADEME Chairman Bruno Lechevin, AIMF Secretary General Pierre Baillet, and Territorial Administration and Decentralisation Minister René Emmanuel Sadi, for the signing of a multi-party agreement to launch the project.
--- *French Environment and Energy Management Agency **International French-Speaking Mayors’ Association
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Infrastructures & good governance
In both cities, infrastructure management is part of the project: maintenance, the organisation of technical support as well as the pooling of competences are key elements in the good governance of public service. The project includes a section devoted to those aspects de governance which the Veolia Foundation particularly cherishes. Its Modeab Project led to the Cameroonian municipality of Bangangté receiving the Prize for Excellence in the United Nations Public Service Awards.
