Barbados’ net zero ambitions, energy access in Africa, and a clear-eye look at renewable energy progress worldwide.

If you missed out on the groundbreaking discussions in Barbados, here are a few highlights from the sixth SEforAll Global Forum. 

Long-term funding to electrify communities in Africa 

The goal of bringing affordable, reliable electricity to millions of people in Africa got a major boost with the announcement of a new $500 million fund from SEforALL, Africa 50, and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority. The DRE Equity fund will mobilize local currency investments in support of the ambitions of Mission 300 – the World Bank Group and African Development Bank effort to connect 300 million people to electricity in Africa by 2030. 

All power to Latin America and the Caribbean  

GEAPP’s Universal Access Coalition teased a forthcoming white paper laying out an ambitious plan to bring electricity to the 16 million people still living without power in Latin America and the Caribbean. The deeply-researched paper lays out the policies, technology, financial models and other interventions needed to deliver electricity to every person across the region by 2030. “The challenge is significant, but the momentum is strong,” says GEAPP’s country delivery manager Roberto Estevez.  

Barbados’s zero emissions ambition

In a speech replete with cricketing metaphors (“You play the pitch as it is, not as you would like it”), Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley, rallied nations to work together to address the twin challenges of equitable energy access and the climate crisis. Barbados is leading by example: it used the conference to present its innovative Energy Transition and Investment Plan outlining ambitious steps toward achieving net zero by 2035.   

Mapping energy progress in the Global South 

If you’re wondering how far we’ve come on advancing energy access in lower- and middle-income countries, then do we have the tool for you! SEforALL’s first-ever Evidence Gap Map draws on more than 700 vetted sources to give a clear-eyed picture of the sustainable energy landscape and help investors, policymakers and more decide where to put their energies and investments next. GEAPP’s Wale Aboyade joined other leaders to discuss this game-changing new tool. 

More event highlights from leaders across the Alliance

• Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB President, gave an address on lighting the way toward economic and social prosperity in Africa.  

• Francesco La Camera, IRENA Executive Director, participated in a session connecting Caribbean stakeholders with international experts to address challenges in renewable energy deployment in the region, with a focus on geothermal potential and grid integration.  

• Mission 300 Special Envoy for GEAPP, Joseph Ng’ang’a spoke on a panel spotlighting key actions and solutions in accelerating the clean cooking transition. 

“We left the conference energized and inspired,” said GEAPP’s Estevez. “Now, it’s time for all of us — governments, businesses, financial institutions, and local communities—to step up and power the future.”