Search Climate Insights Directory

The report examines community-driven decentralised renewable energy (DRE) projects in Germany and Sub-Saharan Africa, arguing that local participation is essential for a successful clean energy transition. It identifies six key benefits of this approach, including energy security, local green job creation, and productive uses of renewable energy (PURE). The document details 12 case studies—three in Germany and nine in Africa—highlighting a variety of technologies such as solar PV mini-grids, micro-hydropower, and solar-powered desalination. It categorises barriers into social, financial, and technical pillars and provides targeted recommendations for public and private stakeholders to scale these models, emphasizing the need for gender-inclusive approaches and innovative financing.

The briefing outlines critical areas of focus for Africa in 2022, including democratic transitions in eighteen countries, the management of military coups in states like Mali and Sudan, and the fight against terrorism in regions such as the Lake Chad Basin. It highlights Africa's priorities for COP27, specifically the need for climate finance, technology transfer, and a just transition that supports industrialisation. Additionally, it examines the evolution of China-Africa relations following the FOCAC Ministerial Meeting and the potential impact of China's debt on Kenya's elections.

The Mokoloki undergrid minigrid project in Ogun State, Nigeria, has demonstrated the feasibility of providing reliable solar power to communities that are connected to the national grid but suffer from unreliable supply. Through a tripartite partnership between the Mokoloki community, Nayo Tropical Technology, and the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), the project has achieved 100% collection rates and doubled its revenue within 18 months. The system, comprising 100 kWp solar PV and battery storage, has significantly improved energy reliability compared to the previous utility service and is driving local economic growth by supporting productive uses of electricity for commercial customers.

The Pacific Islands Renewable Energy Investment Program, funded with USD 17 million in GCF grants, aims to transition seven Pacific SIDS—the Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga—away from diesel power. Component 1 focused on installing Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in the Cook Islands to improve grid stability and load shifting, while Component 2 provided technical assistance for sector reform and capacity building across all target countries. The evaluation finds that while BESS installation has progressed, the lack of timely procurement for solar independent power producers (IPPs) has left some storage capacity idle. Component 2's effectiveness was significantly hampered by COVID-19 travel restrictions, though progress was made in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia. The report highlights the need to synchronize BESS and solar procurement and suggests a 'portfolio approach' to regional utility reform to diversify risk.

The report finds that South Africa's energy fiscal policies are largely misaligned with its climate goals, with fossil fuel subsidies totaling ZAR 172 billion in FY 2020/21. These subsidies, particularly Eskom bailouts and carbon tax exemptions, outweigh the ZAR 100.5 billion in fossil fuel revenues. The social costs of fossil fuel combustion—estimated at a minimum of ZAR 550 billion annually—far exceed both revenues and subsidies. While the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) has successfully lowered renewable energy costs, investment has been hindered by political opposition and Eskom's financial instability. The report recommends tying bailouts to transition reforms, phasing out carbon tax exemptions, and using fossil fuel tax revenues to support vulnerable households and a just transition.

The report examines how financial aggregation—bundling small-scale energy assets into portfolios—can address the financing gap for distributed renewable energy (DRE) in developing countries. It identifies general SME financing barriers and specific aggregation hurdles, such as lack of track records and currency risk. The document proposes enablers including digital data solutions, standardisation of KPIs, and the use of green, social, and sustainability (GSS) bonds to attract institutional investors. While the market is nascent, the report highlights early successes in Rwanda, Côte d'Ivoire, and Brazil as blueprints for scaling clean energy access.

Financing for sustainable cooling is complex because needs vary across populations and businesses, requiring a diverse array of financial instruments including public procurement, grants, subsidies, and commercial financing. A significant development in 2021 was the establishment of a USD 157 million Cooling Facility by the World Bank and Green Climate Fund to support nine developing countries. The appropriateness of these financial flows depends on local conditions such as poverty levels and energy access tiers.

The Energy Transition Council (ETC) aims to make clean power the most affordable and reliable option for developing countries by 2030. For 2022, its priorities include continuing high-level political dialogues, scaling the Rapid Response Facility (RRF) for technical assistance, and coordinating with international initiatives like the GGI-OSOWOG and the Just Transition Declaration. The ETC focuses on eight key areas: integrated energy planning, utility-scale renewables, coal and fossil fuel transition, investment policy, green grids, energy efficiency, distributed renewable energy, and just transition.

The 2022 SEforALL Forum, held in Kigali, Rwanda, mobilized USD 347 million in new financial commitments to support clean energy transitions and energy access in developing countries. Key outcomes included the Kigali Communique, which outlines seven transformative actions for a just energy transition in Africa, and the launch of several new partnerships and initiatives targeting renewable energy, energy efficiency, and clean cooking. The event emphasized the integration of youth in energy leadership and provided a platform for ministerial roundtables and B2B investment matchmaking.

The External Review finds that WRI is 'Mostly on Track' with its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan, achieving 71.3% of its targets by October 2021. While WRI remains a critical global player in environment and development, the review identifies significant risks related to rapid organizational growth, a potential tilt from research toward advocacy, and under-resourced core functions. The report highlights a need for a 'step-change' in monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) and a more systematic integration of poverty, gender, and social equity (PGSE) across its programs. WRI's Africa office is also 'mostly on track,' though it faces challenges in coordinating global programming with regional priorities.

The document examines how Sub-Saharan Africa can utilize the energy transition to foster industrialization. It proposes strategies including the creation of green industrial policies, the development of domestic manufacturing capabilities for clean technologies through research and skills transfer, and the strategic use of natural gas and critical minerals to bridge energy access gaps and move up the global value chain.

Recourse urges Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to stop all direct and indirect fossil fuel financing and to commit to ambitious climate finance targets at COP26. The statement argues that current pledges, such as the MDBs' $175 billion commitment by 2025, are inadequate. It specifically criticizes the World Bank for promoting gas as a transition fuel through Development Policy Finance, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for a portfolio where fossil fuel spending nearly doubles renewable energy spending, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for approving nearly $5 billion in gas project financing since the Paris Agreement. Recourse also calls for the World Bank to match the African Development Bank's pledge of 75 million new off-grid connections by 2025 to address energy deficits in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The document examines the failure of grant-based 'design, procure, install' models for electrifying public institutions, which often lead to premature system failure due to neglected operation and maintenance (O&M). It proposes a service-based model where private providers install and maintain systems over 10-15 years, with governments paying for performance verified by third parties. The brief identifies key barriers—including public sector affordability, private sector capital risks, and grid arrival—and presents case studies from Benin, Kenya, Niger, and Nigeria to demonstrate the model's potential.

The report advocates for a shift in urban development metrics toward the quality, reliability, and affordability of essential services to address the needs of over 1.2 billion under-served city dwellers. It identifies seven necessary transformations across infrastructure, service provision, data, employment, finance, land management, and governance to create more equitable and sustainable cities.

The report proposes a 'Cooling as a Service' (CaaS) model to increase smallholder farmer incomes in India by providing pay-as-you-go access to decentralized, clean-energy cold storage. This model, supported by the 'Your Virtual Cold Chain Assistant' (VCCA) mobile app, aims to reduce food waste and allow farmers to sell produce during high-price windows. Financial modeling for apple farmers in Himachal Pradesh suggests that CaaS can increase farmer incomes by 36% and provide project internal rates of return (IRR) exceeding 22.5%. The initiative targets the mobilization of USD 200 million and the benefit of 1.5 million farmers by the replication phase.

The UN High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE) resulted in the first-ever global roadmap for accelerating Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) and the announcement of over 160 Energy Compacts. These voluntary commitments from governments, businesses, and civil society include more than USD 400 billion in new finance and investment to address energy poverty and decarbonize energy systems. The dialogue established specific milestones for 2025 and 2030, including the phase-out of coal and the tripling of global renewable power capacity.

The Green Aggregation Tech Enterprise (GATE) is a risk-pooling mechanism that guarantees a baseline level of revenue for rural mini grid developers, addressing the lack of credit histories among rural customers. By diversifying risks across different geographies and customers, GATE aims to enable developers to meet debt obligations and crowd in commercial debt. The instrument requires strong implementing partners, support from Development Finance Institutions for initial capital, and a robust regional electricity market, specifically leveraging the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). The initiative is currently preparing for launch in southern Africa, starting with Zambia, and aligns with the Zambian National Energy Policy 2019.

The Desert to Power G5 Sahel Facility is a large-scale program requesting US$ 150 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to leverage a total of US$ 966.7 million in financing. The initiative aims to add 500 MW of solar generation capacity and 239 MWh of utility-scale storage across five G5 Sahel countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 14.4 million tCO2equ over its lifetime. The program is structured into three components: grid investments to de-risk solar Independent Power Producers (IPPs), incremental finance for solar power generation, and technical assistance to improve the regulatory and institutional environment. The African Development Bank (AfDB) serves as the Accredited Entity, coordinating with national governments and private sector stakeholders to address technical, financial, and legal barriers to renewable energy adoption.

The ACT Fund is a mid-market greenfield infrastructure fund designed to overcome investment barriers in West Africa by combining technical assistance, equity, and subordinated debt. It utilizes a 'blended currency mechanism' to reduce financing friction during early project stages and provides structured exit solutions for international equity by refinancing projects with local-currency senior debt once they are operational. The fund targets an initial capitalization of USD 150 million for equity and USD 100 million for subordinated debt, with a primary focus on renewable energy before expanding into urban mobility, water, and waste systems.

The report assesses a financial intermediary, Nithio, that employs a Risk Analytics Engine to provide loans to solar distributors in Sub-Saharan Africa. By using AI, demographic, and geospatial data to forecast customer repayment risk, the instrument aims to move beyond the top 10 regional developers and reach smaller, local distributors and last-mile customers. The instrument has raised USD 23 million and targets a deployment of USD 500 million by 2029, with projected environmental impacts including the abatement of 93,000 metric tons of CO2e per year by 2025.