The panel (from left): Vincent Kitio (UN-Habitat), Esther Mutamba (Rwanda Housing Authority), Okju Jeong (GGGI), and Feng Liu (World Bank)

KIGALI – April 24 -26, 2013 -The Global Green Growth Institute, in collaboration with UN-Habitat and the Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA), co-hosted the Energy-Efficient Building Code (EEBC) Workshop 2013 in Kigali, Rwanda from April 24 to 26. The three-day event was attended by more than 60 participants, including international experts on energy, urban planning and architecture, as well as policymakers from Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and representatives from West Africa. The workshop was organized to provide a forum in which African government could discuss and consult with experts on issues related to energy efficiency provisions in their building code.

Energy efficiency provisions in building codes are viewed as increasingly important in developing countries – including East Africa –because their national power supply lags far behind demand, and buildings account for a significant part of total energy consumption. The rising rate of urbanization in these countries is another major cause of the increasing energy demand.

GGGI’s presentation focused on  one of its ongoing projects in Rwanda – “Framework for Energy-Efficient Building Code” – which aims to assist Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA) officials who have been tasked with preparing the country’s building code. GGGI will provide the necessary expertise to Rwandan legislators via a model code with detailed explanations on the statute’s structure, rationale of its key provisions, and underlying policy considerations. The Workshop concluded with the drafting of the Kigali Declaration on Mainstreaming Energy Efficiency in Building Codes, Building Polices and Building Regulations.