By Eric Appah Marfo, GNA
Accra, Oct.27, GNA— Mr Kofi A. Agyarko, Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Shared Responsibility and Technology Ambition, has urged African countries to guard against becoming “dumping grounds” for inefficient and outdated cooling appliances.
He said the growing demand for cooling across the continent made it imperative for African countries to strengthen appliance standards and ensure that products entering their markets met modern energy-efficiency requirements.
Mr Agyarko was speaking at a Preparation Meeting of African Energy Efficiency and Standards Officers for the China-Africa Standardisation Conference 2026 in Accra.
The meeting convened energy-efficiency experts from eight African countries, to prepare a common position ahead of the China Standardisation Conference scheduled for Beijing in November.
He said Africa was increasingly exposed to two categories of inefficient products: used equipment that had reached the end of its useful life in other markets and new appliances that relied on outdated technology.
Both categories, he said, could impose significant costs on African consumers and governments, particularly as demand for refrigeration and air conditioning continued to grow.
Mr Agyarko said inefficient appliances consumed more electricity than necessary, increasing household bills and placing additional pressure on national grids.
He said this could also force countries to invest in additional electricity-generation capacity to meet demand that could otherwise be reduced through the use of more efficient equipment.
The Expert drew attention to the environmental consequences of cooling appliances, including the effects of refrigerants and the challenges associated with disposing of equipment at the end of its useful life.
Mr Agyarko said China supplied a substantial proportion of cooling appliances to Africa, estimating its share at between 80 and 90 per cent.
He said African countries therefore needed to engage manufacturers and other stakeholders to ensure that appliances supplied to the continent met the same modern standards expected in Europe and America.
The Expert called for a common African position in engagements with manufacturers, arguing that fragmented national approaches could undermine efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of products entering the market.
Mr Agyarko cited Ghana’s experience in developing and enforcing standards and labelling requirements through the Energy Commission as an example of how policy interventions could influence the market.
He said a government-supported initiative under the EcoFridges Project selected vendors to supply air conditioners with four- and five-star energy-efficiency ratings.
According to him, demand increased as consumers experienced the performance and energy-consumption benefits of the more efficient products.
He also recalled research conducted in 2003 which, he said, found that the most efficient air conditioner from one popular brand cost about one-third of the price of the least efficient model from another popular brand.
The experience, he said, demonstrated that energy efficiency should not automatically be regarded as an expensive option, and that consumer awareness and appropriate market interventions could help shift purchasing decisions.
Mr Agyarko said participants of the stakeholder engagement were expected to meet at least once a year to review progress and encourage countries to implement measures to improve energy efficiency.
He said the initiative would begin as a pilot and could be expanded as participating countries demonstrated progress.
Mr Readlay Makaliki, a Senior Technical Expert at the Southern African Development Community Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE), said regional cooperation was essential to ensure that standards developed at regional level translated into effective national measures.
He said SACREEE served 16 countries in Southern Africa and had supported the development of harmonised minimum energy-performance standards for lighting, household refrigerators and air conditioners.
Mr Makaliki said the standards for lighting were developed in 2021, while those for household refrigerators and air conditioners were completed in November 2023 through a programme involving the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), where he also worked.
He said many countries had adopted the lighting standards nationally, although implementation was often voluntary.
Mr Makaliki said Mauritius had made minimum energy-performance standards for air conditioners mandatory in March 2025, with a six-month grace period before implementation began in September that year.
South Africa, he added, was expected to make the standards mandatory by 2027.
Mr Makaliki said SACREEE was interested in learning from Ghana’s product-registration system to strengthen implementation in the region.
Mr Hyacinth Elayo, Sustainable Energy Policy Officer at the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), said standards alone would not be sufficient without effective coordination among regulators, standards agencies and customs authorities.
He said countries needed stronger border surveillance, market monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, including appropriate penalties for those who imported or sold substandard equipment.
Mr Elayo said work was underway in the ECOWAS region to improve laboratory testing and market surveillance, with efforts being made to identify and remove substandard equipment from markets.
He said the measures were particularly important for African countries seeking to expand access to energy while managing the growing demand for electricity.
Mr Elayo said improving the efficiency of appliances would help countries make better use of available electricity resources and reduce unnecessary consumption as they pursue their energy-access and renewable energy goals.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei
Reporter: Eric Appah Marfo