Global Alliance Launches at COP26 to Boost RE in Developing Economies

The new Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) will be launched today at COP26 to accelerate investment in green energy transitions and renewable power solutions in developing and emerging economies worldwide.

Over the next decade, the Alliance aims to unlock USD100 billion in public and private capital and tackle three problems: (1) POWER – reaching one billion people with reliable, renewable energy; (2) CLIMATE – avoiding and averting four billion tons of carbon emissions; and (3) JOBS – building an on-ramp to opportunity by creating, enabling, or improving 150 million jobs. It also opened a Global Call for Transformational Country Partnerships, inviting developing and emerging economies to apply for technical support and funding to advance ecosystems of clean energy projects.

President Joko Widodo of the Republic of Indonesia, which is holding the G20 Presidency in 2022, commented: “Indonesia is proud to endorse the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. The initiative brings together the critical stakeholders that must align and co-create a sustainable path for our nations and for our grandchildren. It is our task to restore the triple happiness envisaged by the Balinese Tri Hita Karana three balances – people with people, people with nature, and people with spiritual harmony.”

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While energy-poor countries are currently responsible for 25% of global CO2 emissions, their share of global emissions could grow to 75% by 2050, according to analysis published today by the Alliance. Yet these countries currently only receive 13% of clean energy financing, despite representing nearly half of the world’s population. There are also 243 GW of coal plants being planned, permitted, or under construction in developing countries. If constructed, they would emit 38 billion tons of CO2 over the coming decades, which is nearly the same as total global emissions in 2020.

To change this trajectory and maximize its impact on jobs and livelihoods, the Alliance announced they are providing more than USD10 billion to focus on fossil fuel transitioning, grid-based renewables, and distributed renewables. Alliance partners include:

• Anchor philanthropic organizations: The Rockefeller Foundation, IKEA Foundation, and Bezos Earth Fund
• Investment partners: African Development Bank Group, Asian Development Bank, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, International Finance Corporation, UK’s CDC Group, US International Development Finance Corporation, and World Bank
• Country partners: Co-Hosts of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) Italy and the UK, and Denmark.

“I am delighted that the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet is launching at COP26, including a new partnership with the Energy Transition Council as part of the Breakthrough Agenda. By bringing philanthropy, government, investors, and civil society together, the Alliance embodies how international cooperation can drive ambitious climate action and share the benefits of clean growth for all,” said Alok Sharma, UK’s President for COP 26 and Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy.

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In this decisive decade, the partnership between the Alliance and the Energy Transition Council will support developing countries and emerging economies transition away from coal power and rapidly scale up clean, affordable and reliable energy that will power new jobs, resilient economic growth and close energy access gaps,” Sharma added.