Energizing Finance: Understanding the Landscape

The report finds that finance for energy access in high-impact countries (HICs) remains critically insufficient. In 2019, tracked electricity finance in HICs fell to USD 32 billion, with residential access funding at less than one-third of the required annual investment. Clean cooking investment has stagnated around USD 130 million annually, far below the USD 4.5 billion needed. While private investment in clean cooking reached a peak of USD 56 million in 2019, multilateral DFI support plummeted. The report emphasizes the need for climate-resilient infrastructure, as seen in Mozambique, and highlights divergent technological paths in Ghana (LPG) and Vietnam (biogas).

• Tracked finance for electricity in high-impact countries (HICs) decreased by 27% in 2019, falling to USD 32 billion from USD 43.6 billion in 2018. Of this amount, approximately USD 12.9 billion benefited residential consumers, which is less than one-third of the estimated USD 41 billion annual investment required globally for universal electricity access by 2030.
• Investment in electricity shifted toward Paris Agreement-aligned solutions in 2019; finance for grid-connected fossil fuels dropped from 50% of total electricity finance in 2018 to 25% in 2019. Conversely, finance for transmission and distribution infrastructure reached its highest level since 2013.
• Finance for decentralized electricity solutions, such as off-grid and mini-grids, remains very low, representing only 0.9% of tracked electricity finance. Bilateral and multilateral development finance institution (DFI) funding for this sector crashed from USD 260 million in 2018 to USD 34 million in 2019.
• Clean cooking investment is chronically underfunded, with annual commitments between 2015 and 2019 hovering around USD 130 million, significantly below the USD 4.5 billion annual requirement. The portfolio is concentrated in a few countries and projects; for example, 70% of finance for Bangladesh and Kenya came from just seven projects.
• Private sector investment in clean cooking reached a record high of USD 56 million in 2019, increasing from USD 32 million in 2018. However, improved cookstoves (ICS) attracted no tracked private investment in 2019, despite attracting 58% of public finance.
• Multilateral DFI commitments to clean cooking collapsed from USD 45 million in 2018 to USD 4.5 million in 2019, representing only 7% of total public finance. The largest 2019 project was a USD 2 million World Bank commitment in Bangladesh.
• A case study of Mozambique highlights the vulnerability of its centralized electricity system, where the Cahora Bassa dam provides over 50% of the supply via one transmission line. Recent finance has heavily favored grid-connected fossil fuel projects (USD 1 billion in 2018 and USD 877 million in 2019) over climate-resilient renewables.
• Clean cooking strategies vary by country: Ghana is pursuing a target of 50% LPG household usage by 2030, requiring USD 400 million in value chain expansion, while Vietnam has successfully implemented a public-private Biogas Programme for rural farming households.

APA

Richmond, M., Meattle, C., Pinko, N., Stout, S., Azhar, H., Mazza, F., & Dickson, M. (2021). Energizing Finance: Understanding the Landscape. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/UTL-Executive-Summary-FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Richmond, Morgan, Chavi Meattle, Nicole Pinko, Sean Stout, Haysam Azhar, Federico Mazza, and Melina Dickson. Energizing Finance: Understanding the Landscape. Climate Policy Initiative, 2021. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/UTL-Executive-Summary-FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Richmond |first1=Morgan |last2=Meattle |first2=Chavi |last3=Pinko |first3=Nicole |last4=Stout |first4=Sean |last5=Azhar |first5=Haysam |last6=Mazza |first6=Federico |last7=Dickson |first7=Melina |title=Energizing Finance: Understanding the Landscape |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=2021 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/UTL-Executive-Summary-FINAL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{richmond2021energizing, author = {Richmond, Morgan and Meattle, Chavi and Pinko, Nicole and Stout, Sean and Azhar, Haysam and Mazza, Federico and Dickson, Melina}, title = {{Energizing Finance: Understanding the Landscape}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2021}, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/UTL-Executive-Summary-FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }