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The report analyzes the proposed Africa-EU strategy ahead of the October 2020 summit, comparing EU priorities with the AU's Agenda 2063. It identifies gaps in the EU's approach, particularly regarding poverty, health, debt cancellation, and infrastructure, and recommends a revamped partnership based on mutual accountability and a people-centred approach.

SEforALL's 2021-2023 business plan introduces 'SEforALL 3.0', an evolution from global agenda-setting to an implementation-focused model. The strategy centers on four thematic areas: Energy Diplomacy and Advocacy, Energy Access and Closing the Gap, Energy Transitions and Climate Change, and Intersection with Other SDGs. Key initiatives include the Universal Energy Facility for results-based financing, the 'Women at the Forefront' program, and the 'Powering Healthcare' agenda. To support these goals, SEforALL requires a three-year budget of USD 58.9 million and plans to establish regional staff presence in Africa and Southeast Asia to better support high-impact countries.

The Mokoloki project demonstrates a new 'undergrid' business model where a private developer, Nayo Tropical Technologies, provides reliable electricity to a community within the territory of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC). The pilot has achieved 99.9 percent reliability, reduced energy costs for customers by ₦20/kWh, and decreased utility losses in the area by over 90 percent. The project supports local healthcare through 24/7 power for clinics and stimulates economic growth by powering small businesses and attracting new enterprises.

The Mokoloki project, launched in February 2020, serves as a proof-of-concept for an 'undergrid' model in Nigeria, where a solar hybrid minigrid replaces a weak grid connection through a tripartite agreement between a utility, a developer, and the community. The project has demonstrated technical reliability of 99.9% and provided economic benefits, including reduced electricity costs for customers and lower technical and commercial losses for the utility. It utilizes an operator-led business model where the developer manages generation and operations while paying a fixed monthly distribution usage fee to the utility.

The report identifies immediate opportunities to electrify agricultural processing in Nigeria, categorizing activities into three tiers of readiness. Tier 1 activities—cassava grating, rice milling, and flour milling—are deemed immediately viable, capable of reducing mini-grid tariffs by up to 26% if all three are implemented. The study proposes the 'Facilitator Model' for Tier 1 and the 'Processing Center Model' for Tier 2 to address barriers such as lack of credit and reliable electricity. A deployment strategy is recommended to unlock commercial finance through credit guarantees and grants, with an estimated national investment of under $30 million required for Tier 1 activities.

The programme aims to install 7.8MW of solar capacity, consisting of 6MW of on-grid rooftop solar and 1.8MW of off-grid solar micro-grids. It seeks to transition remote island barangays from diesel-based power to renewable energy through a model involving Land Bank of the Philippines, AIEC-ILAW, and One Renewable Energy Enterprise, Inc. The project includes technical assistance for policy development, financing for infrastructure, and capacity building for electric cooperatives (ECs).

The briefing analyzes Green Climate Fund (GCF) funding proposals from 2015 to July 2018, finding that interventions for energy access receive significantly less funding than other energy projects and largely neglect low-income and 'high-impact' countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

The report details a study in rural Kenya where community members imagined a future of fully electric cooking and worked backward to identify the necessary steps to achieve it. Participants linked electric cooking to broader development goals, including improved health, gender equality, and infrastructure. The proposed pathway involves a gradual transition from fuelwood to improved stoves and LPG before reaching full electrification, driven by community savings, civic engagement, and government support.

The report finds that while India has shifted resources toward clean energy since FY 2014, subsidies for fossil fuels remain over seven times larger than those for renewables and electric vehicles. Oil and gas subsidies rose by over 65% between FY 2017 and FY 2019, driven by higher oil prices and LPG use, while renewable energy subsidies fell by 35% in the same period. Electricity transmission and distribution subsidies doubled, primarily due to under-priced electricity for residential and agricultural users. Electric vehicle subsidies grew over 400-fold since FY 2014. A special analysis of coal indicates a massive net cost of INR 3,36,446 crore in FY 2018 when accounting for social costs like air pollution and GHG emissions, far outweighing tax revenues and charges.

The Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) warns that the COVID-19 pandemic threatens the survival of the decentralised renewable energy (DRE) sector, with many companies facing liquidity crises and only 3-6 months of survival capacity. To mitigate this, the report proposes the creation of a 'Global DRE Relief Fund' providing grants and low-interest loans (up to 3%), the implementation of a 'Rural Electrification Stimulus Plan' to close the investment gap for SDG7, and the official recognition of DRE as an 'essential service' to allow staff movement during lockdowns. It also calls for the reform of fossil fuel subsidies to fund these transitions and the provision of technical assistance for crisis management and risk analysis.

The guide provides a structured framework for electrifying health facilities, moving from stakeholder consultation and national mapping to energy needs assessments, technical analysis, costing, and the development of an implementation strategy. It emphasizes the use of standardized system specifications to achieve economies of scale and suggests integrating health facility power solutions into community mini-grids for long-term sustainability. The approach is designed to be flexible, allowing steps to be expedited or run in parallel during emergencies.

The analysis reveals that the Green Climate Fund (GCF) significantly underfunds energy access compared to large-scale renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, with only 9% of its total portfolio and 14% of its energy-related funding dedicated to energy access. Furthermore, the GCF largely neglects 'high-impact' countries—those with the greatest energy deficits—allocating them only 15% of energy intervention dollars, which represents less than 1% of the annual funding required to meet Sustainable Development Goal 7 by 2030. The report argues that GCF's prioritization of greenhouse gas mitigation over social benefits creates institutional barriers for small-scale, decentralized projects in low-emission, low-income regions.

The document argues that off-grid solar (OGS) is a critical tool for achieving universal energy access and climate mitigation, particularly by replacing kerosene lamps and reducing black carbon emissions. Despite this, multilateral climate finance institutions have invested only a small fraction of the total capital deployed in the sector. The briefing identifies barriers such as the complexity of projects that combine mitigation, adaptation, and development, as well as a focus on large-scale projects. It recommends strategies including increased concessional financing for early-stage businesses, expanded use of blended finance to attract commercial equity, and the development of a uniform methodology to quantify the climate benefits of OGS, specifically regarding black carbon.

This knowledge brief from Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), produced in support of the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP), examines the challenges and opportunities associated with financing sustainable cooling solutions across diverse user needs.

The paper examines how renewable energy policies diffuse between countries, arguing that policy transfer is a complex, iterative process rather than a simple adoption of policies from a lender to a borrower. Using an adapted Dolowitz and Marsh framework, the authors find that outcomes are shaped by interactions between national and international actors, with significant influence from the EU and international developments, while domestic factors ensure policies are adapted to local contexts.

This report synthesizes lessons from six country case studies to provide recommendations for designing 'Energy Safety Nets'—social assistance mechanisms intended to ensure the poorest populations can afford both the initial connection to and the ongoing consumption of modern energy services to meet SDG7 goals by 2030.

The report finds that kerosene subsidies in Nigeria failed poor women, who paid 2–6 times the official price and faced hardships during shortages. The 2016 subsidy removal further stressed household incomes, leading women in rural areas to rely more on inferior biomass fuels. The report recommends against reinstating kerosene subsidies, suggesting instead that funds be redirected toward social protection programs and the financing of clean-burning cookstoves.

The report finds that kerosene subsidies in Bangladesh are largely ineffective, as official price cuts are not passed to consumers and many poor households remain unaware of the subsidies. While women are primarily exposed to the health risks of kerosene and biomass cooking, men dominate energy purchasing and decision-making. The study suggests that instead of reforming the kerosene subsidy, the government should shift support toward clean energy alternatives like solar PV and grid electricity, which 69% of households believe would most benefit women.

The report finds that kerosene subsidies in Nigeria were largely ineffective, as most low-income households paid significantly above the official price and women faced long queues and safety risks from adulterated fuel. The 2016 removal of these subsidies further strained women's budgets, pushing many in rural areas back toward biomass for cooking, which increases exposure to indoor air pollution and time spent collecting wood. While women often control daily energy choices, men typically own the electronic appliances. The report recommends against returning to kerosene or LPG subsidies, suggesting instead a shift toward technology-neutral clean cooking support and social protection programs targeted at female heads of households.

The report finds that while renewable energy investment reached USD 322 billion in 2018, it must almost triple to USD 800 billion by 2050 to meet climate goals. Investment is heavily concentrated in China, the US, and Western Europe, with a dominance of solar PV and onshore wind. The private sector provides 86% of capital, primarily through project developers. Off-grid renewables, though growing, represent less than 1% of total energy access finance, with Sub-Saharan Africa as the primary destination.