The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its Subregional Office for Central Africa and the African Centre for Statistics, is providing technical support to Cameroon in the development of energy accounts.
In partnership with the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) of Cameroon and the World Bank through the HISWACA Project, ECA is facilitating a workshop on identifying requirements for the development of energy accounts in Cameroon, taking place in Douala from 22 to 26 June 2026.
The workshop brings together key government institutions, specialized agencies in the energy sector, and technical and financial partners to jointly identify available data as well as the technical, methodological and institutional requirements necessary for the compilation of energy accounts in accordance with the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), the internationally recognized statistical framework adopted by the United Nations to measure the interactions between the economy and the environment.
Energy accounts are a modern statistical tool that links data on energy extraction, production, transformation, consumption and trade with the country’s economic activities, as well as information on residuals released into the environment. They therefore provide an integrated picture of the interrelationships between energy, the economy and the environment.
In practical terms, energy accounts help answer critical policy questions: How much energy is produced? Which sectors consume the most energy? How is energy transformed and used? What is the contribution of energy to wealth creation? How can the effects of energy policies on economic growth, employment and greenhouse gas emissions be measured? Energy accounts also help inform decisions regarding the investments required to support the country’s energy transition.
In a context marked by growing energy demand, energy security imperatives and climate change challenges, the availability of integrated and reliable statistics is becoming an essential tool for evidence-based policymaking and investment planning.
The development of energy accounts is fully aligned with the objectives of Cameroon Vision 2035 and the National Development Strategy 2020–2030 (NDS30), which identify structural transformation, sustainable industrialization and the energy transition among the country’s key development priorities.
Energy accounts will also contribute to monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to access to affordable and clean energy, climate action and the sustainable management of natural resources.
Beyond their statistical dimension, energy accounts will provide Cameroon with a robust framework for assessing the effectiveness of energy policies, strengthening coherence between economic planning and natural resource management, and better integrating environmental considerations into public decision-making.
The Douala workshop marks a foundational step in the process of producing energy accounts. It aims, in particular, to identify user needs, assess available data, highlight existing gaps and establish an operational roadmap for the future compilation of energy accounts.
This initiative is being implemented within the framework of the National Plan for the Development of Environmental-Economic Accounting (NPDEEA), adopted by the Government of Cameroon in 2023 as the reference framework for the implementation of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting. The NPDEEA identifies energy accounts as one of the priority areas for the operational rollout of environmental-economic accounting in Cameroon.
Through this activity, ECA continues to support the Government of Cameroon in strengthening national statistical capacities and advancing the development of environmental-economic accounting.
This support includes methodological guidance aligned with international standards, the mobilization of specialized expertise, including from the United Kingdom Office for National Statistics (ONS), as well as continuous technical assistance throughout the process of developing Cameroon’s energy accounts.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
