SEforALL and partners announced recently the results of first-of-its-kind research

Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and partners announced recently first-of-its-kind research analyzing finance flows for electricity and clean cooking access in 20 countries across Africa and Asia with significant access gaps, and how finance strategies could be scaled and refined to reach more people, more affordably, with sustainable energy. 

The new Energizing Finance series reveals the current flow of finance for energy access and clean cooking will not achieve global goals for delivering universal access by 2030. Estimates show an annual investment of $45 billion is needed to meet universal electrification, but the latest data shows that finance commitments for electricity in these 20 ‘high-impact’ countries that represent 80 percent of those without electricity access is less than half that number, averaging just $19.4 billion a year. The largest bilateral financier across high-impact countries was China, which was where 21% of finance originated from. 

Finance tracked for clean cooking revealed a much greater challenge.  Across the 20 countries with the largest clean cooking access gaps representing 84 percent of the global population without access, annual finance committed averaged just $32 million, compared to the estimated annual investment need of at least $4.4 billion. 

The Energizing Finance research, done in partnership with the World Bank Group, Climate Policy Initiative, the African Development Bank, Practical Action Consulting and E3 Analytics, delivers a strong wake-up call to the levels of finance flowing to close energy access gaps, but also creates a roadmap of opportunities which, if finance is more strategically directed, will allow us to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7, and provide affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. 

http://www.seforall.org/EnergizingFinance

Read the press release here.