ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2018

The report finds that while electricity access finance in 20 high-impact countries increased by 56% to USD 30.2 billion per year in 2015-16, it remains far below the estimated USD 52 billion needed annually. Investment is heavily skewed toward non-residential consumers and grid-connected technologies, including a significant increase in coal-fired power. Sub-Saharan Africa is falling further behind, receiving only 17% of total electricity finance. Clean cooking finance is described as 'abysmally low', dropping 5% to USD 30 million in 2015-16, representing a tiny fraction of the USD 4.4 billion annual need. The report highlights India as a 'bright spot' due to strong domestic private investment in renewables and Indonesia for its use of government subsidies to accelerate LPG adoption.

• Electricity investment is disproportionately directed toward non-residential consumers, who receive 72% of finance, while residential consumers receive only 28% (USD 8.6 billion). Furthermore, 96% of residential finance supports medium to high tiers of access (Tiers 3, 4, and 5), leaving basic energy connections (Tiers 1 and 2) underserved.
• There is a significant trend toward grid-connected technologies, with renewables receiving USD 16.2 billion (54%) and fossil fuel plants receiving USD 8 billion (27%) in 2015-16. Coal investment specifically grew from USD 2.8 billion in 2013-14 to USD 6.8 billion in 2015-16, with the Philippines, India, and Bangladesh as the top recipients.
• Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing a widening finance gap; it received only 17% (USD 5 billion) of total electricity finance in 2015-16, a decrease of USD 1 billion from the 2013-14 period. In this region, the majority of finance commitments supported fossil fuel plants, predominantly coal-powered (90%) in Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania.
• Finance for clean cooking is critically insufficient and declined by 5%, from USD 32 million in 2013-14 to USD 30 million in 2015-16. This is far below the USD 4.4 billion annual investment needed by 2030. Most of this funding (92%) comes from international sources, with 69% provided by the public sector.
• India and Indonesia are highlighted as successful models. India saw domestic private investment for electricity access grow from USD 1.6 billion annually in 2013-14 to USD 10 billion in 2015-16, largely for solar and wind. Indonesia used an annual average of USD 1.8 billion in government subsidies to shift cooking fuel from kerosene to LPG.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2018). ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2018. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/EF-2018-ES_SEforALL.pdf

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2018. 2018. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/EF-2018-ES_SEforALL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2018 |date=2018 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/EF-2018-ES_SEforALL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2018energizing, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2018}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2018}, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/EF-2018-ES_SEforALL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }