Bloomberg Philanthropies and IRENA Forge Partnership to Accelerate Clean Energy Deployment in Emerging Markets

The COP28 collaboration aims to overcome barriers and mobilize capital for renewable energy projects in developing economies.

Bloomberg Philanthropies and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) have announced a new partnership aimed at accelerating clean energy deployment and capital mobilization in emerging markets and developing economies. The partnership was officially announced in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, President-Designate of COP28, Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA, and Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The collaboration between Bloomberg Philanthropies and IRENA will focus on several key areas to drive the widespread adoption of renewable energy and overcome barriers to the energy transition. These include building capacities in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America by providing policy recommendations, technical support, and financing solutions for renewable energy initiatives. The partnership will also strengthen project finance and preparation through IRENA’s Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) Platform, aimed at mobilizing capital for renewables-based technologies in emerging markets by 2030. Additionally, the collaboration will facilitate private capital mobilization by presenting investable energy transition projects to financial institutions through the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ).

The main goal of the partnership is to address the lack of bankable renewable energy projects, which has hindered clean energy financing, particularly in emerging markets and developing economies. According to IRENA, annual investments in renewables reached USD 0.5 trillion in 2022, but this falls significantly short of the average annual investments needed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. By reducing risks for developers and investors and providing technical and financial expertise to eligible projects, Bloomberg and IRENA aim to accelerate the pipeline of attractive renewable energy projects.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President-Designate and Chairman of Masdar, emphasized the importance of the partnership in championing innovation, clean energy, climate action, and economic prosperity in emerging markets. He called for urgent progress and a paradigm shift to bridge the gap between ambition and reality, expressing his commitment to working closely with Bloomberg Philanthropies and IRENA to deliver game-changing solutions.

Michael R. Bloomberg highlighted the necessity of strong partnerships across sectors to increase renewable energy production. He emphasized the role of the partnership in developing the capacity of countries in the Global South to build clean energy projects more efficiently and quickly, contributing to the clean energy transition.

Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA, emphasized the need to significantly increase the annual additions of renewable power capacity to limit the impacts of climate change and stay below the 1.5°C target. He described the partnership as a means to accelerate the development and delivery of renewable energy projects in countries that require it the most.