Abidjan Workshop Strengthens Africa’s Push to Eliminate Toxic PCBs
An inception workshop held in Abidjan has reinforced regional efforts to eliminate polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in line with obligations under the Stockholm Convention, while supporting the sustainability of Africa’s electricity sectors.
The three-day Inception Workshop for the Global Elimination Programme for Polychlorinated Biphenyls (GEP-PCB), held from 27 to 29 January 2026 at the African Development Bank headquarters, brought together representatives from African government ministries, power utilities and international partners.
The meeting focused on strengthening coordination, knowledge-sharing and stakeholder engagement, laying the groundwork for effective implementation and scaling up of PCB elimination efforts across the continent.
The GEP-PCB is a multi-country initiative aimed at eliminating PCB use in electrical equipment by 2025, and ensuring the environmentally sound management of PCB liquids and contaminated equipment by 2028. The programme integrates PCB identification, safe handling, equipment replacement and disposal into routine transmission and distribution projects, supporting grid modernisation through a standardised and harmonised approach.
Through child projects in six countries, the initiative targets the elimination of an estimated 8,750 tonnes of PCBs, while promoting best available techniques and encouraging the replacement of contaminated equipment with more efficient transformers.
The programme is supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and led by the World Bank, in partnership with the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions Secretariat and other implementing agencies, including the African Development Bank, UNDP and UNEP.
Participants noted that without adequate financing and strong partnerships, PCB leaks and cross-contamination would continue, posing serious risks to workers and communities, increasing clean-up liabilities and undermining the reliability of electricity systems reliant on ageing infrastructure.
The workshop concluded with agreement to integrate PCB elimination into ongoing and planned transmission and distribution projects in order to meet the 2025 and 2028 targets. Delegates also highlighted significant capacity and financing gaps, calling for stronger public-private partnerships to accelerate progress while advancing priorities in gender, health and the energy transition.
Delivering a keynote address, Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, described the programme as a decisive step towards removing toxic PCBs from national power grids, warning that declining donor resources make closer collaboration with investors and utilities increasingly important.
Jiang Ru, Manager in the Global Environment Department at the World Bank Group, said eliminating PCBs is fundamental to building safe and efficient energy systems, noting that grid and transformer replacement projects cannot move forward without proper management of legacy PCBs.
African Development Bank Group Manager for Climate and Green Growth, Al-Hamndou Dorsouma, welcomed the partnership, highlighting the Bank’s involvement through a child project in Uganda and reaffirming its commitment to advancing clean, resilient and sustainable energy systems across Africa.
