Some of the
world’s poorest nations will be thrust to the forefront of the
global green energy revolution with the help of a £50 million
commitment from the UK Government.
The funding, part of the UK commitment to provide "fast
start" climate finance before 2012, will see the UK
become the largest contributor to a £160 million global initiative
to help boost the renewable energy sector in low-income countries.
The new programme, which has become operational this week, will
not only help countries lower their carbon emissions but also
bring new sources of energy to populations with little access to
electricity. In Africa just 23 per cent of people have access to
regular electricity, and in many countries the figure is below 10%.
The programme will encourage governments and the private sector
in at least five low income countries to scale up investment in
renewables such as large-scale wind turbine arrays and small
hydroelectric power plants
Gareth Thomas, International Development Minister, said:
“The world’s poorest countries need energy to power the schools,
hospitals and industry that are needed to escape poverty. It is
vital that this demand is met through clean, renewable sources.
“This pioneering global programme will help put developing
countries at the forefront of the green energy revolution,
offering a route away from fossil fuels and towards a low carbon future.”
The programme will support at least five low income countries to
transform their energy sectors, making them more accessible,
reliable, and sustainable.
It will:
· Help developing world governments to scale-up the building of
wind, geothermal, biomass and small hydroelectric power plants by
offering practical, financial and policy support;
· Make investing in renewable energy less risky by underwriting
the additional capital costs associated with renewable energy; and
· Encourage private sector investment in renewables by providing
initial start-up funding.
Over the next twenty years around 90% of the increase in global
energy demand will come from developing countries. How to feed
this increased demand with renewable energy is a key issue
currently being addressed at Copenhagen.
The Scaling-up Renewable Energy Programme (SREP) is a multi-donor
programme administered by the World Bank. Other donors include the
Netherlands (£50 million), Norway (£16 million) and Switzerland
(£12 million). The US also pledged £31 million to the fund on Monday.
Notes to Editors
The Scaling-up Renewable Energy Program (SREP) is a new
sub-programme established under the Strategic Climate Fund (SCF),
which is part of the Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) administered
by the World Bank. It will focus on the deployment of renewable
energy in a small number of low income countries.The UK pledged
its £800 million Environmental Transformation Fund-International
Window to the Climate Investment Funds, Congo Basin Forest Fund
and Forest Carbon Partnership Facility in 2008. The UK
contribution to SREP comes from this commitment. The US pledge of
£31 million on Monday pushed the total funding for SREP over the
£153 million (US$250 million) minimum required for the project to
become operational.
Contacts:
James Fulker.
Phone: 020 70230533
j-fulker@dfid.gov.uk