Development aid for energy in Small Island Developing States

The paper analyzes nearly 5,700 energy-related transactions to 37 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) from 2002 to 2016. It finds that while funding increased after 2009 and shifted toward renewables—specifically solar—non-renewable energy sources continue to receive support. The study highlights a lack of correlation between aid allocation and recipient income or electricity access gaps, noting that improvements in access remain slow where gaps are largest. Additionally, low disbursement rates indicate significant implementation challenges, leading the authors to call for improvements in both the quantity and quality of aid.

• Funding for energy in SIDS increased after 2009, with a notable shift toward renewable energy, particularly solar power, although funding for oil-fired plants and other non-renewables persists.
• Energy aid is distributed unevenly among SIDS and does not correlate with the income levels or electricity access gaps of the recipient countries; consequently, electricity access improvements have been slow in countries with the largest gaps.
• There are low rates of fund disbursement, which suggests that there are problems with the implementation of energy projects.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2019). Development aid for energy in Small Island Developing States. https://www.sei.org/publications/development-aid-for-energy-in-small-island-developing-states/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Development aid for energy in Small Island Developing States. 2019. https://www.sei.org/publications/development-aid-for-energy-in-small-island-developing-states/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Development aid for energy in Small Island Developing States |date=25 March 2019 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/development-aid-for-energy-in-small-island-developing-states/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2019development, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Development aid for energy in Small Island Developing States}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2019}, month = mar, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/development-aid-for-energy-in-small-island-developing-states/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }