AREI should regularly evaluate its overall portfolio of programmes and projects to ensure that the criteria remain balanced over time.
AREI will correct imbalances through continuous interaction with partners to encourage targeted interventions, redefinition of priorities and strengthening of weak areas. The AREI trust fund can directly modify its priorities and adjust its funding to favour certain types of projects/programmes and put others on hold, and treat countries that benefit disproportionately from AREI assistance in a preferential manner.
The Independent Implementation Unit (IDU) shall ensure the proper distribution of activities and the financial smile, and shall report to the Board of Directors of AREI, in order to enable it to make an assessment and evaluate the overall balance of the activities it supports financially and ensure that the general principles and guidelines of the AREI are respected.

The IDU shall ensure, after the proposals of the Interim Technical Committee and before submission for adoption of the projects, that there is a permanent balance with regard to:


Projects and programmes directly related to energy access (where at least 70% of the total financing and/or resulting new productive capacity is targeted/served directly to households, local agriculture, small and medium-sized enterprises, service provision and other local production sectors).
The size of installations exploiting renewable energy sources (at least 60% of all financing and/or new generation capacity resulting from mini-grids/off-grid installations).
The diversity of technologies using renewable energy sources, taking into account the national situation and technological availability.
The different types of responsibilities assigned to communities, small and medium-sized enterprises, national companies, municipalities, public institutions, governments, foreign companies and institutional investors, knowing that at least 40% of all projects must be owned/managed at the local/community level.
The distribution of projects and programmes in all countries and sub-regions.
The fact that no country should receive a disproportionate share of projects/programmes in relation to its demographic size, poverty level and other relevant variables.
The fact that no country should be left aside; special efforts should be made to support the least developed countries (LDCs) and countries with limited capacities. The 54 countries concerned must actively participate by the second half of Phase 2 (2020-2030).
The fact that the beneficiaries of aid must essentially be African countries and institutions.
AREI believes that small-scale development will not achieve either energy or climate change objectives, let alone simultaneously achieve both types of objectives.

Therefore, AREI will adopt a strategic and integrated approach focusing on the transformation of the entire African energy system and will take supply and demand incentives as well as international measures.

AREI's work will be in line with proposals submitted by African countries in the United Nations climate change negotiations.

This work will demonstrate Africa's commitment to mitigation measures and transparent implementation. In this way, African countries will contribute to international efforts to reduce global emissions and meet their obligations under the UNFCCC.

This African leadership should encourage developed countries to also honour their commitments under the UNFCCC.