Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; November 11-12th , 2021 – The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), in collaboration with the Ministry of Urbanization, Housing and Cities, organized a two-day training on building energy efficiency policies and standards. The technicians of the different directorates of the Ministry took part in this training. The Ministry is in charge of the promotion of energy efficiency in the building sector as an area of urban planning. National real estate agencies were also invited to the event.

This training focused on:

• The national energy efficiency policy framework;
• The sub-regional and international initiatives on energy efficiency in buildings;
• Methods and tools for improving energy performance in buildings.

The current regulatory framework for the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency include the national Law No. 014 on general regulation of the energy sector and the ECOWAS Regional Policy on Energy Efficiency. The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) has an energy labeling program for household appliances, and an energy efficiency program for buildings. At the international level, several developed countries have revised their energy efficiency texts more than 5 times in the last 20 years, reflecting the importance of the issue.

The tools and methods used in the sub-regional initiatives were presented. The climatic parameters, especially the solar radiation, play an important role in the energy need of buildings. The walls, and in particular the roof, are at the origin of indoor overheating. Highly reflective materials and window shading devices can contribute to reducing the cooling needs in the context of Burkina Faso. Other regulatory tools discussed included the envisioned Minimum Energy Performance Standard for air conditioning systems.