SEFORALL, CPI NEW RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS TROUBLING TREND IN CLIMATE CHANGE FIGHT

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 -- New research published by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) highlights a troubling trend in the fight against climate change and push to deliver universal electricity access.

This is despite environmental, economic and many other challenges facing coal, pockets of funders continue to finance additional coal-fired generation capacity in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, according to a statement.

The Coal Power Finance in High-Impact Countries knowledge brief, part of SEforALL’s Energizing Finance research series, analyses 18 countries with the largest electricity access gaps (i.e. high-impact countries) to identify those receiving finance for coal-fired power, the sources of this investment, its key drivers and the risks attached.

The brief makes the case that distributed renewable energy generation provides the fastest and most efficient path to increased electricity access in the near-term. 

It recommends a paradigm shift from centralised coal to distributed renewable energy generation to rapidly expand electricity access in high-impact countries, not only for residential household use, but at access tiers that support economic growth.

Ahead of this year’s UN High-level Dialogue on Energy and COP26, the brief recommends a reevaluation of the current geography-based carbon accounting system, which allocates emissions to countries based on their physical origin.

 Instead, implementing a finance-based carbon accounting regime would force policymakers to consider the impact of domestic capital on cross-border emissions and push private investors to align their portfolios with the net-zero ambitions they support.

SEforALL works to ensure a clean energy transition that leaves no one behind and brings new opportunities for everyone to fulfill their potential.

-- BERNAMA