Dec 09, 2020
The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) had the opportunity to sit as an observer in the first ever meeting of the COP26 Energy Transition Council on 4 December 2020.
The new Council has been launched by the UK Government as part of its COP26 Presidency ahead of the global climate summit which will be held in Glasgow in November 2021. This inaugural meeting brought together ministers and senior officials from 21 countries and leaders of international organisations focused on the global power sector.
The aim of the Council is clear: to bring its members together to accelerate the transition to clean power. This is welcome news to the Climate Investment Funds because this is also one of CIF’s core objectives. Mafalda Duarte, Head of CIF, said: “How to bring about the energy transition in a way that does not leave communities behind is one of the most questions important of our age. It will only be solved by collaboration between governments, international organisations and the private sector. So we strongly support the UK government’s efforts to mobilize partners in the lead up to the COP26, and CIF stands ready to work with the new Council.”
Announcing the Council, Alok Sharma, the UK Government’s Minister for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and COP26 President Delegate, said clean power should be made part of countries’ economic recovery from COVID-19. "The world faces the prospect of catastrophic climate change and we have no time to lose if we are to avert it,” he said. “Through the COP26 Energy Transition Council, governments and international leaders can share expertise and support one another to achieve a faster transition to clean, affordable and resilient power systems as part of a green economic recovery from the global pandemic.”
A shared ambition for clean power
CIF is well-placed to contribute to the aims of the Energy Transition Council. Following the inaugural meeting, the Council released a statement agreeing to explore opportunities for collaboration in several key areas. One area was “making clean power technologies the preferred option for countries investing in new power generation, with the aim of doubling the rate of investment in clean power by 2030”. CIF has specialized in this for many years as the world’s premier source of climate financing. CIF has demonstrated a proven model of concessional financing to drive investments in clean energy. Through $4.3 billion of investment in Clean Technology Funding, it has supported in 87 large infrastructure projects and leveraged $19.4 billion in co-financing.
Another commitment in the Council’s statement was to explore collaboration aimed at “supporting people and communities heavily reliant on the coal economy to make a secure and just transition to clean power and other economic opportunities, ensuring that no one is left behind”. This is also a CIF priority and we have recently developed a Just Transition Initiative in partnership with the Center for Strategic and International Studies to investigate how to achieve a just transition.
Given this common ambition, Climate Investment Funds is looking forward to sharing its research and experiences with members of the Energy Transition Council, and to hearing their thoughts and findings. Hopefully these important conversations will advance global efforts to drive climate action in the year leading up to COP26. Watch this space.
Read more about CIF’s Just Transition Initiative
See the impact of CIF’s Clean Technology Fund
