Summary of the guidebook: "How to develop a Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP) in Sub-Saharan Africa"

The Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA) supports local authorities in Sub-Saharan Africa in the climate challenge and in their efforts in ensuring access to clean energy. It is one of the "Regional Covenant" of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM). Under the CoM SSA local authorities are invited to make a voluntarily political commitment to implement climate and energy actions in their communities and agree on a long-term vision to tackle 3 pillars, namely access to energy, climate mitigation and climate adaptation. In order to translate the political commitment into practical measures, CoM SSA signatories commit to elaborate and implement a Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP). This document has been prepared to assist Sub-Saharan Africa local authorities in preparing a Climate Action Plan. It provides step-by-step guidance and examples of measures relevant for local authorities in Sub Saharan context. Despite being framed and definite, the process of developing a SEACAP allows flexibility. The choice and sequence of actions can vary according to the policies and measures already in place. This flexibility allows local governments to develop a SEACAP that is coherent with and effective for their local circumstances and objectives. This document has been partly adapted from previous Joint Research Centre’s (JRC) experience in Europe and other regions of the world (see for example the JRC reports JRC113188 "Guidebook: How to develop a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) in the MENA Region" and the JRC112986 "Guidebook - How to develop a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan" released in 2018).