Bamako Community Power Declaration: Community Power and Energy Access for All

We, the participants of the 2nd World Community Power Conference WCPC2018, gathered here with more than 400 people from more than 45 countries in Bamako on 8th and 9th November 2018, agreed to and decided to issue this Declaration. 

After two days of very fruitful discussions of all relevant aspects regarding community power and energy access, and building on the outcomes of previous events, including the Fukushima Community Power Declaration and the Community Power for All! resolution, we conclude:

We re-confirm that availability of energy is the precondition for human life and for prosperity and that it must be top priority to serve those hundreds of millions around the world without access to modern energy services.

Renewable energy is available everywhere in abundance and can in principle be used by everyone. Accordingly, we underline that the free use of wind, solar and all other renewable energy sources for self-supply should be recognised as a true and natural right of all citizens and communities. 

We underline that in particular local and community ownership of renewable energy projects do multiply the benefits of energy availability, strengthen socioeconomic prosperity, resilience to climate change and participation and further democratic structures. 

We re-confirm that grid-connected and off-grid community power is understood as a community-driven, local commitment to renewable energy production infrastructure, which are built and operated by local citizens and municipalities on their own responsibility and whose economic and social benefits, in turn, benefit the local community, i.e. investments oriented towards the common good, ensuring democratic participation.

In order to accelerate access rates and to minimise environmental hazards such as Green House Gas Emissions  and air pollution, we call on decision-makers around the world to recognise the basic right to harvest sustainably and use renewable energy for self supply of individual persons as well as of communities. 

This basic right should be provided by: 

• avoiding respectively removing all kind of actual and bureaucratic barriers to the use of renewable energy,
• enabling and supporting citizens and communities to develop and operate renewable energy technologies, 
• making renewable energy technologies available to all human beings,
• develop and promote business models that allow and emphasise the productive use of renewable energy, 
• support local, community based investors, by making use of innovative financial instruments that help to close the equity gap.

We welcome all government initiatives including the upcoming NDC review process, monitoring fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goal 7 and enhancing climate finance e.g. through the Green Climate Fund - that support community power, be it in the developing or in the developed world. We encourage all governments and all international organisations to set up additional frameworks that allow communities and citizens to become owners of renewable energy projects. 

We thank all governments, international organisations and individuals who contributed to this conference, in particular the Government of Mali, the German Federal Ministry for Environment, the World Food Programme, GIZ, ISEP, and all those who contributed to making the WCPC2018 a success.

We welcome the creation of the African Community Power and Rural Electrification Platform and encourage all African community power stakeholders to join and to actively contribute for the benefit of the people in Africa.

We invite all delegates and community power stakeholders around the world to join the 3^rd World Community Power Conference 2020, whose host country will be announced in spring 2019.

Bamako, 9 November 2018

 Signed by the representatives of the three hosting organisations on behalf of all the participants

•  Dr Ibrahim Togola, Chairman, Mali-Folkecenter Nyetaa
• Stefan Gsänger, Secretary General, WWEA
• Dr Tetsunari Iida, Director, ISEP Japan