GEAPP Leadership Council Backs Transformational Plan to Electrify Africa

• Global leaders align support for the World Bank Group (WBG) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) ambition to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030.
• Bank Presidents share their vision for the initiative, Mission 300, that will connect close to half of the world's un-electrified population.
• Prime Minister of Tanzania announced the African Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, where African Heads of State, development partners, and private sector leaders will convene in January 2025.

NEW YORK, Sept. 24, 2024 /CNW/ -- At the 79^th United Nations General Assembly and New York Climate Week, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet Leadership Council (GLC) convened three dozen leaders from government, development finance, the private sector, and philanthropy, to garner support and commit resources to accelerate Mission 300, a broad partnership led by the World Bank Group (WBG) and African Development Bank (AfDB) to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030. During the convening, AfDB President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, and WBG President, Ajay Banga, addressed world leaders for the first time since they launched the initiative in April during the World Bank Spring Meetings.

GLC Co-chairs, Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway, and Rajiv Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, called on members to mobilize support and shared new commitments of their own. The Government of Norway endorsed Mission 300, and committed to supporting the acceleration of investment in renewable energy, including through a new state guarantee mechanism, existing collaboration with the World Bank and the African Development Bank and by advocating for a robust IDA21 replenishment. Meanwhile, The Rockefeller Foundation, GEAPP, and SEforALL, announced an initial $10 million Technical Assistance Facility to support Mission 300 and kickstart an initial 15 projects in 11 countries. 

This year's annual in-person GLC convening was dedicated to advancing energy access in Africa, where more than half of the population live without electricity. Additional GLC members agreed to align efforts and resources, including, British International Investment, the UK's development finance institution; Agence Française de Développement (AFD); the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA); Power Africa, a US-Government led partnership; and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, among others.

"Development is about dignity and there is no dignity without electricity. Economies cannot grow in the dark," Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank said during the convening. "Energy is fundamental to Africa's development. For us to achieve the ambition of Mission 300, we need to work together. I cannot think of better partners than the World Bank and all the members of the GEAPP Leadership Council to do this with."

"The foundation of all growth is energy. Working together with the African Development Bank and GLC members, Mission 300 offers a new approach to financing and partnership," said Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank. "I am encouraged by the momentum from today's convening, which is critical to bringing together concessional capital, on-the-ground expertise, and the ability to plan and execute projects with urgency to drive impact.''

African leaders addressed the GLC, sharing the urgency and criticality of advancing energy access. They spoke to the insufficient speed and scale of the energy transition across the continent, welcoming Mission 300 as a platform to prioritize, innovate, and accelerate.

"Energy is the lifeblood of every civilization. We cannot advance our development agenda in Liberia without electricity," said H.E. Joseph Boakai, President of Liberia. "I want to express our gratitude to the World Bank, African Development Bank, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, and Alliance partners; this initiative gives me hope, and Liberia promises to take any opportunity we have through this initiative to put it to the best use for the interest of our people."

"Nearly 600 million people, more than half of Africa's population, lack energy access, hindering the continent's economic growth. This is unacceptable," said H.E. Kassim Majaliwa, Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania. "Stronger coalitions among countries, development partners, and the private sector are crucial to closing the electrification gap. We commend the World Bank and African Development Bank for their bold commitment and GEAPP's Alliance partners for their unwavering support to provide electricity to 300 million people by 2030, a step that could transform Africa's future."

With this goal in mind, the Prime Minister on behalf of Her Excellency Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, announced that the African Union, African Development Bank Group, and the World Bank Group, in partnership with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, will host a summit in Dar es Salaam to build high-level political momentum for Mission 300 in January of 2025.

GLC Co-Chair, Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway, reiterated the GLC's commitment to backing Mission 300 saying, "The green transition is happening now. It is about giving all countries the same opportunities, creating jobs and cutting emissions. To give 300 million people access to electricity by 2030 is the kind of ambition we need. And we can achieve it, if we work smarter and better together."

Speaking to the work of the Alliance, GLC Co-Chair, Raj Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation said: "In the past 24 months, GEAPP and its more than 50 partners have developed 130 projects across 40 countries, improving electricity access for over 50 million people, reducing 43 megatons of carbon emissions, and enhancing the livelihoods of over 2 million people. Yet, much more remains to be done. By supporting the Banks' goal to empower 300 million Africans by 2030, we can drive the most impactful development initiative of our generation."

The GLC's commitment to Mission 300 builds on its ongoing efforts to support emerging economies' energy and climate solutions, including the Battery Energy Storage Consortium, which launched with 16 first-mover countries and over 19 technical and resource partners at COP28 in 2023. The Consortium is already accelerating deployment of battery storage in India, Malawi, Vietnam, and Barbados through projects totaling over 200 megawatts.

"Mauritania is committed to tackling one of Africa's greatest challenges—access to affordable, reliable electricity. With over 600 million people across the continent still without power, we fully support the initiative led by the World Bank and AfDB as an extension of Desert-to-Power to provide electricity to 300 million people by 2030," noted H.E. Mohamed Khaled, Minister of Energy and Petroleum of Mauritania. "In Mauritania, we are driving progress through innovative projects like the BESS Consortium, BEST and RIMDIR program, which will increase national electricity access to 70%. With nearly half of our energy already coming from renewables and groundbreaking hydrogen projects underway, Mauritania is leading the way toward a sustainable, reliable and inclusive energy future."

"This is a race against time—we face either a future of escalating crises or one of transformational opportunity," said Woochong Um, CEO of GEAPP. "GEAPP is bringing the power of our Alliance, including governments, businesses, and philanthropy to join and accelerate progress together to ensure universal access to reliable, renewable, affordable power. Initiatives like Mission 300 are not just smart—they are essential for building a sustainable future where everyone can prosper. Today, the GEAPP Leadership Council is proving that acting at scale and speed is possible. By changing energy, we change lives."

About Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP)
The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) is an alliance of philanthropy, governments, technology, policy, and financing partners. Our common mission is to enable emerging and developed economies to shift to a clean energy, pro-growth model that accelerates universal energy access and inclusive economic growth while supporting the global community to meet critical climate goals during the next decade. As an Alliance, we aim to reduce 4 gigatons of future carbon emissions, expand clean energy access to one billion people, and enable 150 million new jobs. With philanthropic partners the IKEA Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and Bezos Earth Fund, GEAPP works to build the enabling environment, capacity, and market conditions for private sector solutions, catalyze new business models through innovation and entrepreneurship, and deploy high-risk capital to encourage private sector solutions and assist just transition solutions. For more information, please visit www.energyalliance.org and follow us on Twitter at @EnergyAlliance.

Contact: Eric Gay, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), [email protected]

SOURCE Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP)