Coalition of Global Public and Private Sector Leaders Begin Breaking Down Barriers to Just Energy Transitions

Inaugural meeting of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet’s Global Leadership Council. (Photo courtesy of The Rockefeller Foundation)

NEW YORK | September 21, 2022 – The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) convened the inaugural meeting of its newly formed Global Leadership Council today during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City. Co-chaired by Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway, and Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, this diverse and growing coalition of global leaders was created to tackle the most challenging barriers to scaling just energy transitions worldwide and keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Global Leadership Council:

1. Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister, Kingdom of Norway (Co-Chair)
2. Rajiv J. Shah, President, The Rockefeller Foundation (Co-Chair)
3. Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme
4. Ajay Mathur, Director-General, International Solar Alliance
5. Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank Group
6. Andrew Steer, CEO, Bezos Earth Fund
7. Anne Finucane, Chairman of the Board, Bank of America Europe
8. Børge Brende, President, World Economic Forum
9. Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All
10. David Malpass, President, World Bank Group
11. Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency
12. Francesco La Camera, Director-General, International Renewable Energy Agency
13. Jonathan Berman, Chairman, DRE Ventures
14. Jules Kortenhorst, CEO, RMI
15. Kelly Sims Gallagher, Dean of Energy and Environmental Policy, Tufts University
16. Mark Carrato, Coordinator for Power Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development
17. Mauricio Claver-Carone, President, Inter-American Development Bank
18. Nick O’Donohoe, CEO, British International Investment
19. Patricia Espinosa, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2016-2022)
20. Per Heggenes, CEO, IKEA Foundation
21. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, Arab Republic of Egypt
22. Ravi Venkatesan, Board Chair, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet
23. Roberto Cingolani, Minister for Ecological Transition, Republic of Italy
24. Vera Songwe, Co-Chair, United Nations High Level Climate Panel
25. Werner Hoyer, President, European Investment Bank

Prime Minister Støre opened the meeting, which was held at Rockefeller University, stating:

“Global crises are slowing progress towards universal energy access and clean energy transitions. As we head towards COP27, the world is a very different place than one year ago. The war in Ukraine, global energy shortages, and record temperatures, have aggravated the situation. This is the defining challenge of our times. It is more important than ever that we drive up the pace of change and commit to greater collaboration so we can achieve the change people so desperately need.”

While developing countries are currently responsible for only 25% of global CO2 emissions, their share of global emissions could grow to 75% by 2050, according to analysis published by the Alliance. These countries currently receive only a fraction of clean energy financing, despite representing nearly half of the world’s population. The meeting provided a critical and impartial platform to start advancing solutions, including driving down the cost of clean energy technologies, delivering locally owned Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JET-Ps), and building carbon credits for coal decommissioning.

Dr. Shah stated:

“The mission — and the opportunity — of the Global Energy Alliance is to scale innovative green technologies to restart the progress lost to Covid-19 and stop the rapid march of climate change. The Global Leadership Council has the knowledge and the networks to overcome the most challenging barriers to unlocking opportunity with energy transitions and keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

Over the next year, the Global Leadership Council will amplify and help accelerate GEAPP’s clean energy solutions across its country programs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. With support from founding philanthropic partners, Bezos Earth Fund, IKEA Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation, along with 11 multilateral and development finance institutions, local energy and technology providers, and governments, GEAPP will work to operationalize the Global Leadership Council’s recommendations.

Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet CEO Simon Harford stated:

“With 3.6 billion people living in some form of energy poverty, of which 760 million do not have access to any electricity at all, achieving an energy transition with more equitable access to clean energy for countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean has never been so important. With the extraordinary depth of experience and commitment by the members of the Global Leadership Council, we will strive to increase the pace and scale of providing clean, reliable energy to those who don’t have it, while reducing emissions, improving livelihoods, and advancing women’s empowerment worldwide.”

About the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet

The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) is alliance of local entrepreneurs, governments in emerging and developed economies, and technology, policy, and financing partners.

Our common mission is to support developing countries’ shift to a clean energy, pro-growth model that ensures universal energy access and unlocks a new era of inclusive economic growth, while enabling the global community to meet critical climate goals during the next decade. In doing so, as an Alliance we aim to enable 150 million new jobs, reduce 4 gigatons of future carbon emissions, and expand clean energy access to one billion people. With philanthropic partners, Bezos Earth Fund, IKEA Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation, 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.

Media contacts

Anne Kristin Hjukse
Office of the Prime Minister of Norway
+47 22 24 40 72
anne-kristin.hjukse@smk.dep.no

Eric Gay
Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet
+1 917 912 6190
eric.gay@energyalliance.org

Ashley Chang
The Rockefeller Foundation
+1 212 852 0000
achang@rockfound.org