ABSTRACT: This study examined the effect of energy access and climate change on unemployment levelin some selected West African countries. To achieve the purpose of this study, relevant theoretical and empirical literature on energy access, climate change, and economic development with focus on how unemployment level has responded to changes in the energy access and climate were reviewed. The selected six (6) countries of west African regionare: Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone based on energy consumption and population size. The period covered by the study is 1995-2022. Both statistical and econometric techniques were adopted for the analysis of the data. Based on the analysis of the data using the Arellano-Bond two-step GMM Dynamic Panel econometric technique, some key empirical findings were made are: Volume of electricity generated had positive and insignificant impact on unemployment rate. This shows that volume of electricity generated as measure of energy access was not a significant predictor of unemployment rate among the selected ECOWAS member countries during the period studied. Electricity consumed had a negative and significant impact on unemployment rate. This implies that electricity consumed as a measure of energy access reduced unemployment rate among selected ECOWAS member countries during the period reviewed. Access to electricity had a negative but insignificant impact on unemployment rate. This implies that access to electricity was not a significant predictor of job creation among selected ECOWAS member countries during the period reviewed. Carbon emission as the selected indicator for climate change impacted negatively but insignificantly on unemployment rate. This shows that climate change was not a significant predictor of unemployment rate and economic development among selected ECOWAS member countries during the period reviewed. Based on these findings the study recommended effective policies that will address electricity pricing, electricity subsidy and electricity metering in the selected west African countries and the sub region at large.

Key words: Unemployment rate, Energy access, electricity generated, electricity consumed, price of electricity and climate change