Foundations, banks, and DFIs launch $100B green energy alliance

Major foundations and development finance institutions have launched an alliance at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference to unlock $100 billion in public and private financing for green energy over the next decade. The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet aims to reach 1 billion people with renewable power, avert 4 billion tons of carbon emissions, and create or improve 150 million jobs. The alliance builds on a partnership launched earlier this year by the IKEA Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation, which committed $1 billion toward tackling climate change. That capital, along with money from the Bezos Earth Fund, “will unlock billions of dollars in investment capital from multilateral and development finance institutions.” Those investment partners include the African Development Bank Group, Asian Development Bank, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, International Finance Corporation, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and World Bank, as well as the United Kingdom’s CDC Group. Where it will invest: The alliance said it will focus on developing and emerging economies, and it asked countries to put themselves forward as potential investment partners. Why it matters: According to an analysis published with the launch, energy-poor nations are currently responsible for only 24% of global carbon dioxide emissions, but this could grow to 77% by 2050. Such countries represent nearly half the world’s population but receive only 13% of clean energy financing. The analysis estimates that actions taken now to reduce reliance on coal could avert 38 billion tons of carbon emissions by 2050.