Towards a Revision of the Ecowas Energy Protocol

The ECOWAS Commission, through the Directorate of Energy and Mines, organized with the support of its partner the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), a regional workshop on International Energy and Investment Policy held from 25 to 26 November 2024 in Accra, Ghana, to revisit the “Global Reform of International Investment Governance and the Future of the ECOWAS Energy Protocol.”

The workshop gathered Experts from ECOWAS Ministries in charge of Energy with knowledge on recent ECOWAS Energy instruments and investment and contract negotiation activities in the energy sector, Representative from ECOWAS specialized energy agencies (WAPP, ERERA, ECREEE), Representative from IISD and staff from ECOWAS Directorate of Energy and Mines.

As a reminder, ECOWAS Member States are parties to several international and regional instruments related to investment governance, including the ECOWAS Energy Protocol, adopted in 2003. The Energy Protocol aims to establish a legal framework for long-term cooperation in the energy sector, with the goal of enhancing energy trade across West Africa and facilitating investments in the sector. In light with recent developments in the region, notably key legal instruments such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the 2023 AfCFTA Protocol on Investment, the revised ECOWAS Regional Energy Policy, ECOWAS Electricity Code, and the ECOWAS Green Hydrogen Policy and Strategy, it is timely to assess the relevance of the ECOWAS Energy Protocol.

The opening ceremony of the workshop was marked by the statements of Mrs Suzy NIKIEMA, Director of Investment for the Economic Law and Policy Program at IISD, Mr Bayaornibè DABIRE, ECOWAS Director of Energy and Mines and Honorable John Kobina Abbam SANIE, Ghana Deputy Minister for Energy, in the presence of Ambassador Mohammed Lawan GANA, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Ghana.

During the two-day workshop, participants were equipped with knowledge on the structure, functioning and challenges of international investment Agreements (IIAs) in general and the ECOWAS Energy Protocol in particular. They also identified some of the reasons for reform of the ECOWAS Energy Protocol, which include: (i) Alignment with relevant investment and energy legal and policy instruments at the continental, regional, and national levels, (ii) Balance of investors’ and states’ rights and obligations, and (iii) Support of the sustainable development and the clean energy transition objectives.

At the end of the workshop, participants made several recommendations. The key one being for ECOWAS to Initiate and direct the process of revising the ECOWAS Energy Protocol in consultation with the Member States and its partners, including IISD.