Working towards a Smart Energy Path: Experience from Benin, Mali and Togo

This report describes the 'Energy, Ecodevelopment and Resilience in Africa (EERA)' project, which implemented a 'Smart Energy Path' methodology in Benin, Mali, and Togo. The project focused on creating environmentally sustainable and resilient energy services through a multi-sectoral, participatory decision-making process that prioritizes collective energy services over individual household access.

• The 'Smart Energy Path' is a planning methodology designed to meet population needs and aspirations while ensuring environmental sustainability and participatory governance. It utilizes a multi-dimensional assessment tool called 'Processing Information for Energy Policy and Ecodevelopment' (TIPEE), which employs 24 indicators across environmental, social, economic, technical, and participatory dimensions to evaluate national energy policies.
• In Benin, Mali, and Togo, governments prioritize 'collective energy services'—those providing health, education, and clean water benefits—over household energy provision, as these are viewed as more critical for poverty alleviation and development.
• Energy infrastructure in the three countries is highly vulnerable to climate change. Mali's hydropower plants, which provide over 50% of its electricity, can see a 20% production drop during low rainfall years. Benin imports 90% of its electricity, creating vulnerability to both climate change and import fluctuations. In Togo, 75% of thermal generating capacity is located in coastal areas prone to flooding.
• Rural electricity access is extremely low across the region, with the national grid failing to serve over 90% of the rural population in each country. In 2010, electricity access for rural populations was less than 4% in Benin and Togo, and less than 6% in Mali. In Togo specifically, only 2.5% of rural primary schools and 9% of rural and peri-urban health centres had modern energy services.
• The EERA project emphasized a multi-sectoral participatory approach to energy planning, involving ministries of health, education, and decentralization alongside energy and environment sectors. This approach was intended to move beyond supply-side planning to focus on end-user needs, though it faced challenges such as competing priorities and skepticism from those who believed non-energy sectors lacked relevant expertise.
• A Regional Stakeholder Council comprising experts from five francophone African countries developed a 'Common Declaration' presented at COP 20 in December 2014. This declaration advocates for energy systems that are driven by development needs, prioritize collective services, respect multidimensional constraints, and utilize regulatory frameworks that reinforce the role of decentralized authorities.

APA

Labriet, M., Fiebig, C., & Labrousse, M. (2015). Working towards a Smart Energy Path: Experience from Benin, Mali and Togo. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CDKN-HELIO-Inside-Story-Energy-Smart2.pdf

Chicago

Labriet, Maryse, Christine Fiebig, and Michel Labrousse. Working towards a Smart Energy Path: Experience from Benin, Mali and Togo. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2015. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CDKN-HELIO-Inside-Story-Energy-Smart2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Labriet |first1=Maryse |last2=Fiebig |first2=Christine |last3=Labrousse |first3=Michel |title=Working towards a Smart Energy Path: Experience from Benin, Mali and Togo |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=August 2015 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CDKN-HELIO-Inside-Story-Energy-Smart2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{labriet2015working, author = {Labriet, Maryse and Fiebig, Christine and Labrousse, Michel}, title = {{Working towards a Smart Energy Path: Experience from Benin, Mali and Togo}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2015}, month = aug, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CDKN-HELIO-Inside-Story-Energy-Smart2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }