Energizing Finance

The report finds that global financial commitments for energy access are insufficient, with electricity funding reaching only about half of the required USD 52 billion annually and clean cooking funding remaining abysmal. While electricity finance increased to USD 30.2 billion per year in 20 high-impact countries, it is heavily concentrated in Asia, particularly India, while Sub-Saharan Africa has seen declines. Investment is skewed toward grid-connected technologies, including a doubling of coal plant financing, while off-grid solutions receive only 1.3% of total funds. Clean cooking finance dropped 5% to USD 30 million per year, far below the USD 4.4 billion needed. Case studies highlight India's success in mobilizing private finance for renewables and Indonesia's use of government subsidies to scale LPG adoption.

• Annual financial commitments for electricity access in 20 high-impact countries rose by 56%, from USD 19.4 billion in 2013-14 to USD 30.2 billion in 2015-16, yet this remains significantly below the USD 52 billion per year estimated by the IEA as necessary for universal access by 2030.
• Finance for clean cooking is critically underfunded, decreasing 5% from USD 32 million in 2013-14 to USD 30 million in 2015-16, which is less than 1% of the USD 4.4 billion annual investment required by 2030.
• There is a severe geographical imbalance in electricity finance; 86% of annual commitments (USD 24 billion) were concentrated in India, Bangladesh, and the Philippines, while seven high-impact countries—Afghanistan, Angola, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Sudan—saw finance decline by over 50%.
• Investment in electricity is heavily biased toward centralized grid technologies, with grid-connected renewables receiving 54% (USD 16.2 billion) of finance. Conversely, investment in grid-connected fossil fuel plants doubled to USD 8 billion per year, with coal plant financing increasing 2.4 times to USD 6.8 billion.
• Off-grid solutions (OGS) remain severely underfunded, representing only 1.3% of total tracked electricity finance, despite their cost-effectiveness for rural areas. Commitments grew from USD 210 million in 2013-14 to USD 380 million per year in 2015-16.
• In India, domestic private finance for electricity increased from USD 1.6 billion in 2013-14 to USD 10 billion in 2015-16, largely driven by a government target of 175GW of renewable energy by 2022.
• Indonesia successfully shifted households from kerosene to LPG through government subsidies, spending an annual average of USD 1.8 billion between 2013 and 2016, which increased LPG use from 10.6% in 2007 to 72.4% in 2016.
• Sub-Saharan Africa is falling further behind in electricity access; while it requires USD 50 billion annually by 2030, only USD 5 billion per year was committed in 2015-16, a decrease of USD 1 billion from the 2013-14 period.
• Clean cooking finance is dominated by international public sources (69% of total finance), with the majority of funding (72% or USD 22 million) going to Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically Ethiopia and Kenya.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (n.d.). Energizing Finance. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Energizing-Finance-_-2018.pdf

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Energizing Finance. n.d. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Energizing-Finance-_-2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Energizing Finance |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Energizing-Finance-_-2018.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiativendenergizing, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Energizing Finance}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Energizing-Finance-_-2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }