SEforALL Forum Closes with Over USD 347 Million in New Commitments Made to Energy Access and Transition

Several new initiatives and partnerships also announced at landmark global gathering for sustainable energy

Yesterday, 19 May, the Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) Forum, co-hosted by the Government of Rwanda, closed after three days of programming focused on advancing a clean and inclusive energy transition around the world.

Over 1,000 attendees, including leaders from government, business, development institutions, and civil society, gathered to enable commitments and partnerships for energy, climate and development progress.

The Forum included the announcement of several new commitments and initiatives to support energy access and transition, with approximately USD 347 million in finance commitments revealed by SEforALL’s partners.

“While we celebrate the success of this global SEforALL Forum, we also recognize that there is still a long way for us to go. We need urgent and decisive action to drive forward a people-centred energy transition,” said Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy, in closing out the Forum. “Energy, climate and development must go together – clean energy access truly is the link to a better life, to a safer and more prosperous future.”

The financial commitments announced at the Forum included:

• Bloomberg Philanthropies committed USD 242 million to accelerate the clean energy transition in 10 developing countries, including Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, and South Africa, through partnerships with SEforALL, the ClimateWorks Foundation, and other key partners to expand renewable energy capacity and access while phasing out coal use.
   
• Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) committed USD 50 million to further its multi-year support for SEforALL to bridge energy access gaps and support energy transition programmes in targeted markets.
   
• IKEA Foundation announced USD 5.8 million in funding for the Universal Energy Facility, the results-based financing facility managed by SEforALL.
   
• Innovate UK’s Energy Catalyst announced that up to GBP 40 million will be issued to help combat the climate crisis for communities in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Indo-Pacific regions.

New initiatives and partnerships launched at the Forum included:

• Ministers from African countries participated in a private Ministerial roundtable to help build a narrative for what constitutes a just and equitable energy transition in Africa, and to help guide commitments and actions on energy access and transition on the road to COP27. A communique from the represented countries was issued. Meanwhile, an Asia-Pacific Ministerial roundtable focused on scaling-up finance for the energy transition.
   
• New and updated Energy Compacts were submitted to UN-Energy from Nepal and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), along with strong calls for accelerated action from Malawi, Nigeria and the UN for others to join existing or new Compacts.
   
• Mission Efficiency was unveiled as a collective of commitments and actions on energy efficiency made by governments, organizations and other initiatives.
   
• Climate and impact fund manager Camco Clean Energy has partnered with Energy Peace Partners to manage the Peace Renewable Energy Credit (P-REC) Aggregation Fund to expand renewable energy investment in fragile states in Sub-Saharan Africa.
   
• OPEC Fund announced an Energy Access and Transition Trust Fund to support clean cooking solutions and to facilitate a model project in Madagascar.
   
• The Scottish Government launched its new Global Renewables Centre, which will provide a hub for facilitating knowledge exchange between the Scottish Renewable Sector and the Scottish Government’s three African partner countries – Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia.
   
• Solar Sister, Inc. and LivelyHoods Kenya announced their merger to bring economic opportunity and clean energy to millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Forum also marked the 10th anniversary of SEforALL as an organization and provided an opportunity to reflect on its progress and establish goals for the next 10 years.