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The G20 has transitioned from a narrow focus on financial stability (2005–2008) to an integrated governance model where energy security, climate action, and sustainable development are central. Key milestones include the 2009 Pittsburgh Summit's first mention of clean energy, the 2015 first Energy Ministers' Meeting, and the recent sequence of Global South presidencies (Indonesia, India, Brazil, South Africa) that have shifted the narrative toward equity, just transitions, and the reform of the international financial architecture. South Africa's 2025 Presidency specifically champions African interconnectivity, critical minerals sovereignty, and debt sustainability to enable a just energy transition.

The document examines the shortcomings of Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs), noting their tendency toward techno-economic framing and donor-driven agendas. It proposes South-South cooperation (SSC) as a vital alternative that leverages shared socio-economic challenges and peer learning to foster more inclusive, justice-centred transitions. Using South Africa and Colombia as case studies, the brief identifies specific opportunities for collaboration in mine closure, green industrialization, and institutional coordination to move beyond one-size-fits-all models.

The briefing explains that the western grid operates as an interconnected web where electricity flows across state and utility boundaries to balance supply and demand. It highlights that most major utilities in the West acted as both importers and exporters of electricity in 2024, providing a critical safety net during emergencies. Case studies from 2024 illustrate how the Pacific Northwest relied on imports from the Southwest and Rockies during a January cold snap, and how Montana imported 59% of its demand during a July heat wave and generator outage. The document concludes that increasing demand from AI and manufacturing necessitates further investment in regional transmission planning and projects like SunZia and Greenlink.

The report outlines the design of a proposed Country Platform for Nigeria's energy transition, arguing that the framework must be state-owned, politically anchored, and integrated with national development goals rather than being a donor-driven replica of other JETPs. It identifies critical needs for high-level presidential leadership, vertical coordination with oil-producing states, and the resolution of institutional bottlenecks that hinder the disbursement of climate finance. The proposed platform emphasizes a 'people-centred transition' that prioritizes job creation, energy access, and social protection for displaced workers, while strategically navigating global geopolitical pressures such as the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

The document examines the failure of uniform utility reform models in Africa, emphasizing that success depends on local context rather than ideological blueprints like privatization or cost-reflective tariffs. It contrasts the struggles of Nigeria and Ghana with the more successful, context-specific approaches in Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire, while highlighting the tension between commercial viability and poverty-driven affordability in countries like Zambia and Ethiopia.

Colombia's Energy Communities program, launched in 2023 under the National Development Plan 2022-2026, aims to provide reliable electricity to off-grid rural areas, particularly Indigenous and Afro-Colombian populations. By shifting from diesel generators to hybrid and solar mini-grids, the program supports local economies—such as electric motorcycle retrofitting in Mingueo and solar-powered fish farming in Natagaima—while contributing to Colombia's goal of 51% emissions reduction by 2030. However, the program faces challenges regarding the duration of technical training, long-term financing for maintenance, and institutional coordination in protected areas.

The document catalogues Union and State-level financial supports in Chhattisgarh across electricity transmission and distribution (T&D), coal, oil and gas (O&G), renewable energy, electric vehicles (EVs), and bioenergy. Key state-level expenditures include significant subsidies for agricultural electricity, such as the Krishak Jeewan Jyoti Yojana, and the Saur Sujala Yojana for solar pumps. Union-level support is prominent in coal pricing for utilities and the FAME scheme for electric mobility. The appendix also lists the data sources used to track government receipts from these energy sectors.

The report advocates for 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) as a mechanism to ensure a just energy transition. By requiring corporations to match their electricity consumption with carbon-free generation on an hourly and local basis, 24/7 CFE incentivizes a diverse portfolio of energy resources beyond just wind and solar, including next-generation 'clean firm' technologies. This approach is presented as a way to create high-quality, permanent jobs for dislocated fossil fuel workers, reduce local air pollution, and enhance grid resilience. The document aligns 24/7 CFE with the G20's Just and Inclusive Energy Transition (JIET) Compact and provides best practices for corporate buyers to maximize social and economic benefits through community engagement and equitable hiring.

The Clean Air Task Force urges the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to remove its funding ban on nuclear energy to help Asia-Pacific economies meet rising energy demands with clean, firm power. The document highlights that while countries like China and South Korea have successfully used nuclear energy for industrialization, other emerging economies in the region have failed to implement programs due to financing and expertise gaps. It specifically identifies the Ninh Thuận projects in Vietnam and the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant in the Philippines as immediate opportunities for ADB intervention. The author recommends that ADB lift its ban, build internal expertise, create dedicated funds for large and small modular reactors, and prioritize risk-sharing with private and government investors.

The policy brief argues that while performance incentive mechanisms (PIMs) can drive regulatory outcomes and affordability, they require intentional evaluation to ensure benefits outweigh costs. RMI recommends that PUCs implement recurring and transparent evaluations via web-based dashboards, assess PIMs as a holistic portfolio rather than in silos, create informal stakeholder dialogue spaces to reduce administrative burdens, and utilize existing design guidelines to standardize retrospective evaluations.

ENGIE Energy Access has published a white paper titled "Maximising Impact: Transforming Grant Funding for Energy Access," which advocates for a fundamental shift in the structure and delivery of grant funding to address the energy access gap in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The policy brief outlines six priorities for U.S. states to leverage the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and other federal incentives: immediate electric vehicle fleet conversion, permitting and interconnection reform, filling financial gaps via public-private partnerships and aggregate purchasing, improving energy affordability, launching home energy rebates, and attracting cleantech manufacturing. It emphasizes the urgency of acting before federal tax credits expire, specifically noting a September 30, 2025, deadline for EV credits and a July 2026 construction start deadline for certain solar and wind credits.

The study finds that unreliable power supply in Benin forces businesses to invest in defensive measures, with extra costs accounting for 44% of total electricity expenditures. These costs, primarily driven by power generator operations, push an additional 5% of businesses into a state of 'electricity burden' (spending >10% of revenue on power). The burden is most prevalent among informal businesses, home-based enterprises, and those in the production sector.

RMI and UNDP have launched a Climate Risk and Resilience Toolkit to protect rural African solar minigrids from climate hazards. The toolkit provides a five-step Resilience Assessment Framework and operational guidance to ensure continuous energy for critical services and agricultural productivity. It emphasizes an integrated approach that combines technical infrastructure hardening—such as elevating panels to prevent flood damage—with community-level resilience through climate-smart agriculture and disaster preparedness. While integrating these measures increases capital and operational costs, which some developers pass to users via higher tariffs, the guide argues that such resilience is essential for sustainable energy access in climate-vulnerable regions.

The project aims to support rural entrepreneurs in Benin through two main pillars: electricity access via mini-grids, electrified activity zones (ZAE), or solar kits, and the provision of efficient cooking stoves for agri-food processors. Targeting 20 small businesses and 108 women's groups, the initiative seeks to consolidate 100 jobs, increase incomes, and reduce carbon emissions by approximately 17,000 tCO2eq.

The document describes the 'Zones d’Activités Électrifiées' (ZAE) initiative in Mali, which replaces polluting gasoline generators with reliable electricity to support local entrepreneurs. It highlights the installation of 8 ZAEs in rural areas, with 5 more in development, and provides specific economic data from the Moro Moro zone, including the creation of 34 jobs and access to services for approximately 7,300 people. The text also details a success story of a bakery in Koury and mentions the expansion of similar low-carbon development programs to Benin.

The 2025 Utility Roundtable highlighted the need for African power utilities to move beyond dependency on foreign aid by adopting new financing strategies, addressing structural inefficiencies like commercial losses, and strategically integrating renewable energy into fragile grids through regional collaboration and private sector engagement.

The study finds that excluding 'extra electricity costs'—expenses for voltage stabilizers, generators, and alternative energy sources—significantly understates energy poverty in Benin. While 51% of connected households are energy poor based on electricity bills alone, this figure rises to 72% when defensive expenditures are included. Power generator operation is the largest cost driver, accounting for 46% of total extra electricity costs. Key determinants of energy poverty include low household wealth, lack of tertiary education, and the use of electricity for economic activities.

The US power sector is experiencing unprecedented load growth, requiring the grid to expand more than five times faster than in the previous two decades. To address this, the report recommends maximizing existing grid value through grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) and demand-side flexibility, accelerating connections via 'energy parks' and streamlined interconnection processes, and adopting proactive, scenario-based planning. It also suggests targeted affordability measures for low-income customers and specialized rate designs for large loads to prevent cost-shifting and stranded-asset risks.

The policy brief argues that current Free Basic Services (FBS) in South Africa provide only a 'survival' level of access that fails to lift households out of poverty. It proposes increasing free electricity to 150kWh and water to 8kl per month for households earning below the minimum wage, while shifting administration from municipalities to a social grant system (SASSA) to reduce exclusion and administrative inefficiency.