Press release

Second Energy Transition Council Ministerial & Rapid Response Facility launch

Rapid Response Facility launched as a new technical assistance initiative to support countries’ energy transitions.

From:
Cabinet Office and The Rt Hon Lord Alok Sharma KCMG
Published
19 April 2021
This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government
COP26 logo
  • Rapid Response Facility launched as a new technical assistance initiative to support countries’ energy transitions.
  • This initiative includes £2.7m of funding from the UK Government to accelerate the transition from coal to clean power.
  • The Energy Transition Council met 12 April with ministers and senior officials from 22 countries and 15 international institutions.

The Rapid Response Facility (RRF) was launched 12 April at the second meeting of the COP26 Energy Transition Council, which brought together ministers and senior officials from 22 countries, as well leaders of multilateral development banks, intergovernmental organisations and climate funds.

The RRF will provide a broad range of assistance to developing countries such as strategic planning, capacity building and technical expertise to streamline decision-making and accelerate energy transitions in advance of COP26.

This is an international initiative, backed by donor governments, international institutions and philanthropy to a combined total of £10m for 2021-2022, including £2.7m of funding from the UK Government.

Co-Chair of the Energy Transition Council, COP26 President-Designate, Alok Sharma MP, said:

The Rapid Response Facility will play a key role in supporting countries to make real and clear progress in their transition from coal to clean power, ahead of COP26.

The UK’s COP26 Presidency is committed to mobilising action to tackle climate change and this is a great example of what can be achieved when development partners come together. This is the Energy Transition Council’s spirit of collaboration in action.

Co-Chair of the Energy Transition Council, Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy, said:

Access to sustainable energy unleashes economic growth, creates new jobs and increases climate resiliency. Yet far too many developing countries continue to face ongoing challenges in accessing the finance they need to close access gaps with sustainable energy.

With less than ten years to achieve SDG 7 without jeopardizing our Paris Agreement goals, we need urgent action to accelerate progress and secure a clean energy transition that leaves no one behind. This new facility is a critical tool for the Energy Transition Council’s work to support countries and mobilize new commitments to the clean energy transition ahead of COP26.

The RRF will support swift action that directly responds to needs identified in dialogue between developing countries and the Energy Transition Council. It will complement the Energy Transition Council’s work with donors and development partners to develop stronger, longer-term programmatic support for developing countries’ energy transitions.

In total, the donor governments represented in the ETC collectively deployed in excess of $14bn of bilateral energy transition assistance to developing countries involved in the ETC between 2014 and 2018 as part of an overall finance package of $55bn which was provided by the international community over the same period to these countries.

The UK alone has mobilised over £2bn of energy transition assistance to developing countries over the past five years.

The RRF will also provide a coordinating role to ensure that international development partners provide aligned and comprehensive responses to countries’ requests for support to the ETC.

Dr. Kevin Kariuki, Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, African Development Bank, said:

The AfDB, through the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, will facilitate technical assistance through the Rapid Response Facility to address short-term energy transition priorities of the respective participating Governments.

We are coordinating our interventions closely with the COP26 ETC Secretariat and ETC Partners and look forward to continuing engagements with the respective participating Governments as we explore options to scale up renewable energy generation on the African continent.

Mari Pangestu, Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships at the World Bank, said:

A global energy transition is required to close the access gap of almost 800 million people in a sustainable, affordable and reliable way, and tackle climate change.

We are pleased to work with the UK COP26 Presidency and other development partners to support the Rapid Response Facility through the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), to better coordinate international climate action and provide the necessary assistance to developing countries for a green, resilient and inclusive development.

Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA, said:

The transition to renewable energy presents significant socioeconomic opportunities and aligns global growth with a low-carbon, Paris Agreement compliant future. To realise this future however, much more must be done to channel investments towards the transition.

IRENA is wholly committed to increasing the flow of capital to the energy transition, paying particular attention to the needs of developing countries and will support all efforts to make the Rapid Response Facility effective.

Bryony Worthington and Cressida Pollock, Co-Directors, Quadrature Climate Foundation said:

Significant progress has been made in phasing out coal and decarbonising power sectors globally, but there is still a long way to go. QCF is pleased to collaborate with the UK’s COP26 Energy Transition Council to facilitate bold climate action through financial and technical assistance that supports power sector transitions to clean energy.

Pablo Vieira, Global Director of the Support Unit, NDC Partnership, said:

The RRF complements the work of The NDC Partnership. We welcome the facility and are ready to mobilize our global network of almost 200 countries and institutions to support energy-related requests from our member countries channelled through the RRF or directly through the NDC Partnership.

Patrick Graichen, Executive Director of Agora Energiewende, and Joe Ryan, Executive Director of the Crux Alliance, said:

Excellence in policy, and applying deep policy expertise to pressing political needs is the hallmark of the Agora and INETTT approach, thus we are delighted to support the COP 26 ETC RRF as part of the Crux Alliance.

David Hatcher, Global Energy & Resources Lead, Baringa Partners, said:

Climate change is a global issue that affects all of society. Baringa has actively been helping our clients mitigate climate risk as part of the energy transition. While the energy transition presents a huge challenge, a just transition also offers opportunities for jobs and growth, cleaner air, and improved public health while helping support people and communities heavily reliant on the coal economy to make the transition to clean power, ensuring that no one is left behind.

Baringa is delighted to contribute fast-acting support to the ETC RFF initiative, bringing 20 years of energy transition experience and our market leading climate analytical capabilities to assist the ETC in delivering this ambitious initiative.

Sebastian Kind, Chairman of GREENMAP, said:

Despite high growth potential, renewable energy adoption in most developing countries has been slow, with investments not flowing at the necessary scale. We believe the ETC and RRF could play a pivotal role, broadening political commitment and driving a coordinated effort to reverse this pattern. GREENMAP looks forward to delivering real long lasting impact in collaboration with the RRF and the other partners.

Sirpa Jarvenpaa, Director of the Southeast Asian Energy Transition Partnership, said:

As a member of the Energy Transition Council, ETP stands ready to serve as a vehicle for providing technical assistance and capacity building in alignment with the Rapid Response Facility in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. ETP’s Funders include the Governments of France, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom and Philanthropies such as the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, IKEA Foundation, and Sequoia Climate Fund.

Notes to editors

In 2021, the UK Government will host COP26. One of the key campaigns of COP26 focuses on energy transitions, aiming to shift electricity generation away from coal and to accelerate the deployment of clean power solutions, including more flexible green grids, storage and grid/demand-side efficiency.

To support this process, the UK COP26 Presidency has convened an Energy Transition Council (ETC), including major development finance institutions, intergovernmental agencies and major climate funds.

The first ministerial meeting of the ETC was held on 4 December 2020, at which ministers and senior officials from 21 countries came together with leaders of the world’s international organisations focused on the global power sector, after which they made a joint summary statement agreeing to work together to find solutions more quickly to the technical, economic and social aspects of the transition to low cost, low carbon, inclusive and resilient power systems.

During 2021, the ETC is holding a series of dialogues with emerging economies facing a range of energy transition challenges to identify potential areas for greater international collaboration to address these.

The RRF is supported by the following partners:

Updates to this page

Published 19 April 2021

Related content