ADB and GEAPP pledge US$35m to accelerate energy access and transition in South and Southeast Asia

• ADB and GEAPP announce plan to establish the Energy Access and Transition Trust Fund.  
• Agree provision of initial $35 million catalytic funding from GEAPP to mobilise additional capital and unlock pipeline of investable projects. 
• Partnership designed to initiate scalable solutions, pilots, and business models that can be replicated.  

Washington DC – 14 April 2023 – Today, during the World Bank Spring meetings, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) announced a new capital fund to accelerate clean energy access and transitions in countries across South and Southeast Asia including India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. GEAPP will provide an initial $35 million of catalytic capital towards the fund, which will be established and administered by ADB. 

With this partnership ADB and GEAPP aim to address the challenges of climate change and energy access and transition in Asia and beyond. Priority programs will include supporting Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Vietnam, and the early retirement of coal-fired power plant initiatives in Indonesia. Opportunities will be supported through technical assistance, grant components for investment projects, and blended concessional instruments to crowd-in additional capital. 

“We welcome this support from GEAPP which will help ADB in two of our most important priorities as Asia and the Pacific’s climate bank,” said General Woochong Um, ADB’s Managing Director. “First, expanding clean energy for the 350 million people in our region who have either limited or no access to electricity. And second, catalyzing the transition from coal and other fossil fuels toward clean, affordable, and reliable energy sources.” 

Robust economic growth, demographic expansion, and increased urbanization have accelerated energy demand growth in Asia. Yet a lack of reliable and affordable energy access via traditional electricity distribution systems, paired with high upfront capital costs for advanced technologies and energy storage have hindered the region’s progress to date. 

“There are great opportunities to open up clean energy access and transition while addressing climate change yet in 2021 just 8% of financing for energy transition technologies went to low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) – that’s the lowest share in 10 years,” said Simon Harford, GEAPP’s Chief Executive Officer. “We need to do better and act bolder, knowing we will only meet critical climate goals through collaboration and meaningful capital commitments. GEAPP’s partnership with ADB is a great example of this response – new and additional capital will be mobilised at a ratio of at least 15x at portfolio level to encourage the use of clean energy in the region, underpinned by practical innovation, scalable solutions, and knowledge sharing.” 

The new fund will contribute to GEAPP’s 2023 priority of increasing accessibility to clean energy technologies across LMICs by unlocking new finance flows for the energy sector, driving down the cost of clean energy technology, and developing investable projects that unlock additional funding.  

The partnership builds on ADB’s track record of supporting universal access to reliable and affordable energy while promoting the low-carbon transition in the region. It is hoped this model will further contribute to international climate finance ambitions.  

The new fund was formalized at a signing ceremony in Washington DC attended by ADB’s Managing Director, General Woochong Um; GEAPP’s Chief Executive Offer, Simon Harford; and GEAPP Chief Partnerships Officer, Sundaa Bridgett-Jones. 

About Asian Development Bank 

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members – 49 from the region.

About the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet 

The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) is an alliance of philanthropy, governments in emerging and developed economies, and technology, policy, and financing partners. Our common mission is to enable LMIC’s 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, 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.

Contacts  

Eric Gay, The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP)

+1 917 912 6190 | eric.gay@energyalliance.org