On 5th December, at COP28, government ministers, finance institutions, private sector CEOs, and representatives of civil society and other international organisations convened to discuss practical actions to accelerate the deployment of electricity grids and create a future energy system fit for renewables.
The GGI played a key role supporting the COP28 Presidency to convene this discussion and advance global ambition on electricity grids.
Please see here for the detailed readout of the meeting.
Key Themes
The participants strongly welcomed the COP28 Global Renewable and Energy Efficiency Pledge and recognised the critical role of electricity networks as the foundation of our collective commitment to work together to triple global installed renewable energy generation capacity to at least 11,000 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.
In response to the immense scale of the challenge, participants issued a call for collective action to support the key enablers under the 2030 Pledge, and the development of green grids globally.
To this end, participants:
Called for a move towards greater long term strategic and integrated planning, whilst shifting from reactive to anticipatory investment.
Identified large-scale mobilisation of private capital as necessary to achieve the substantial investments in grid infrastructure required to deliver on energy targets, which cannot be met by public funding alone.
Recognised strategies for regional integration, such as the Africa Continental Power System Master Plan, as key to accelerating the energy transition and supporting energy access.
Stressed the opportunities for grid development and investment in Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs) to catalyse local growth, support sustainable development, and provide energy access.
Recognised the importance of placing people at the heart of the transition and noted opportunities for greater collaboration with civil society and other non-state actors.
The Way Forward
Participants showcased world leading action and identified a range of practical next steps to take forward, recognising existing initiatives and frameworks for international collaboration (including the GGI, Power Breakthrough, and Global Renewables Alliance), whilst welcoming additional and complementary forms of collaboration, including the launch of the Utilities for Net Zero Alliance.
The GGI volunteered to convene a Supply Chains Taskforce to support collective action to scale up global grid supply chains, kick-starting in early 2024 to develop proposals for next Clean Energy Ministerial meeting.
