ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2018

This executive summary from Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) analyzes finance commitments for electricity and clean cooking access in 20 high-impact developing countries, comparing the 2015-16 period to 2013-14. While electrification finance increased, it remains insufficient to meet 2030 goals, and clean cooking finance has declined. The report highlights a significant geographical imbalance, with Sub-Saharan Africa falling behind and a heavy reliance on a few Asian countries for total finance flows.

• Overall electrification finance commitments in the 20 high-impact countries rose by 56%, increasing from USD 19.4 billion in 2013-14 to USD 30.2 billion in 2015-16. However, this remains well below the estimated USD 52 billion per year required to achieve universal electricity access by 2030.
• Electricity finance is heavily skewed toward non-residential consumers and grid-connected technologies. Only 28% (USD 8.6 billion) of electricity finance supports residential consumers, while 72% goes to non-residential consumers. In terms of technology, 54% (USD 16.2 billion) was channeled into grid-connected renewables, but investment in grid-connected fossil fuel plants doubled to USD 8 billion per year in 2015-16.
• There is a severe geographical imbalance in electricity finance. Four countries—India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Kenya—received 86% of annual finance commitments, totaling USD 26 billion per year. Conversely, Sub-Saharan Africa received only 17% (USD 5 billion) of total electricity finance in 2015-16, a decrease of USD 1 billion from the 2013-14 period.
• Finance for clean cooking is critically low and declining, dropping 5% from USD 32 million in 2013-14 to USD 30 million in 2015-16. This is a small fraction of the USD 4.4 billion annual investment needed by 2030. Most of this funding (92%) comes from international sources, with the public sector providing 69% of the total.
• Investment in off-grid solutions (OGS) for electricity nearly doubled from USD 210 million in 2013-14 to USD 380 million in 201 la same- la, la 2015-16, yet it still represents only 1.3% of total same la total finance tracked. Most residential electricity finance (96%) supports higher access tiers (Tiers 3, 4, and 5), same la), leaving basic energy connections (Tiers 1 and 2) underfunded.
• India is highlighted as a 'bright spot' due to a massive increase in domestic private investment, which grew from USD 1.6 billion per year in 2013-14 to USD 10 billion per year in 2015-16, largely driven by aggressive renewable energy targets of 175GW by 2022.
• In Indonesia, domestic public subsidies have been more impactful for clean cooking than international finance. The government spent an annual average of USD 1.8 billion on subsidies to support LPG use between 2015-16, which reduced kerosene use from 36.6% in 2007 to 3.8% in 2016.

APA

Sustainable Energy for All (2018). ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2018. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/gather-content/EF-2018-ES_SEforALL.pdf

Chicago

Sustainable Energy for All. ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2018. 2018. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/gather-content/EF-2018-ES_SEforALL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Sustainable Energy for All |title=ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2018 |date=2018 |url=https://www.seforall.org/system/files/gather-content/EF-2018-ES_SEforALL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sustainableenergyforall2018energizing, author = {{Sustainable Energy for All}}, title = {{ENERGIZING FINANCE: UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE 2018}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, year = {2018}, url = {https://www.seforall.org/system/files/gather-content/EF-2018-ES_SEforALL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }