COMMENT


CLEAN LIVING


W


elcome to the OPEC Fund Quarterly. This edition focuses on


inclusive and clean energy transitions, an ever-more pressing issue as the climate crisis intensifies. Extreme weather events, such as the north-western American heatwave in June and July, underline that time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is running out. A significant drop in CO2 output during 2020 because of pandemic lockdowns – six percent, according to the International Energy Agency – provided only temporary respite. World leaders grasp the urgency of the situation: COP26 in Glasgow, which starts on October 31, aims to secure the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) that will allow the world to meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. But decarbonizing the world economy


so rapidly is not the sole challenge. This transition to green energy sources must also be fair, equitable, and just – something emphasized by SDG 7, which promises “access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. Providing energy that is both clean and cheap is a balancing act politicians must learn on the road to net zero; something that confronted President Macron of France in 2018 after the gilets jaunes protests erupted in response to his attempted levy of a carbon tax on diesel and other fuels. While the world straddles the gap to clean energy, oil and gas still have a role to play in many regions to ensure continuing access to


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affordable sources. In the meantime, OPEC Fund member countries are diversifying their energy portfolios and looking to the future: the United Arab Emirates is bidding to host COP28 in two years’ time. Even though national governments


have struggled to make the Paris Agreement commitments a reality, there is cause for hope, believes Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO of the international Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll) organization (see pages 10-13). “I have always maintained my optimism. You have to fundamentally believe that the change you are fighting for can happen,” she says, pointing to the recent success of SEforAll’s advocacy efforts in persuading the UN General Assembly to timetable the first High-level Dialogue on Energy in 40 years in September, in the run-up to COP26. “I believe we are at an optimal moment in history that gives us the best shot at finally achieving SDG 7,” says Ogunbiyi, as she surveys the clean-energy push against the current backdrop of struggles for global equity. The Africa region, although a minor


contributor to climate change, shoulders the burden of its effects across all economic sectors, points out Daniel Schroth, Acting Director for the African Development Bank's Department of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. The continent's path towards sustainable energy transition can be facilitated by strengthening public-private sector engagement and boosting renewable energy capacity. The latter is highly


feasible as Africa's untapped energy sources, such as abundant sunlight, provides a more affordable means of bringing more sustainable technologies into their energy mix, asserts Schroth. Latin America and the Caribbean


(LAC) is an example of a region that has made huge strides in eradicating energy poverty: electricity coverage in 2019 was 97 percent, up from 79 percent in 1990. But the final step can be the hardest, warns Ariel Yépez-Garcia, Energy Division Chief of the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB) (see pages 16-17): “Electrification rates have slowed down in recent years, mainly due to challenges in electrifying last-mile communities in rural settings.” Off-grid renewable energy could be one way to connect up such remote settings – part of a number of renewable solutions the IDB is financing in order to facilitate a transition that will both decarbonize the region and stimulate its economy. Cities – which produce around 70


percent of greenhouse gas emissions – will be at the forefront of the battle against climate change. But they are ideally placed to incubate the collaborative efforts that will be needed in the energy sector, as Nigel Jollands and Lin O’Grady of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) Green Cities programme explain (see pages 38-41). Forty-nine cities in its catchment area of central and eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the southern and eastern Mediterranean have now signed up. They are eager to


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