The United Nations Foundation, together with the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development and the Energy and Security Group, recently released a document on “Sustainable Bioenergy Development in UEMOA Member Countries”. The report, commissioned by the Hub for Rural Development in West and Central Africa, “identifies opportunities, assesses constraints, identifies trade-offs, and outlines key policy issues for promoting sustainable production and use of bioenergy in the eight member countries of UEMOA.” The UEMOA is the French acronym for the “West African Economic and Monetary Union”, comprising the countries of Bénin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinée Bissau, Mali, Niger, Sénégal, and Togo. The report mentions that UEMOA countries face the challenges of land degradation and desertification that are ‘compounded by the lack of access to energy and effects of climate change.” “Sound bioenergy production policies can help drive a coordinated approach to poverty reduction and reduce the impact of climate change” on these already vulnerable areas. The full report can be accessed at the URL above..