The UK Special Representative for Climate, Rachel Kyte will Monday highlight the economic, health, and environmental benefits of UK-African innovation collaborations at the flagship ZE-Gen event, held as part of London Climate Action Week.
ZE-Gen: Powering Productivity, Accelerating Investment, demonstrates the huge international opportunities presented by clean power and how it can transform emerging economies, businesses, communities and critical services struggling with unreliable or lack of grid access.
The event includes ground-breaking clean energy projects brought to life by ZE-Gen across Ivory Coast, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and the UK. ZE-Gen’s collaborations include supporting more than 50 different organisations, all driving the transition to renewable energy in countries currently dependent on polluting fossil fuel generators.
To date, ZE-Gen has catalysed £39.75m as part of its mission to create jobs, power businesses, and tackle climate change by ending the use of fossil fuel generators, with support from the IKEA Foundation and the UK Government’s Ayrton Fund.
Investors, policymakers and innovators will explore key demand sectors – including SMEs, healthcare, telecommunications and humanitarian settings.
Globally, around 1.5 billion people don’t have access to reliable electricity. Highly polluting, fossil fuel generators are used to provide electricity in emerging economies with weak grids or no access to energy, and have huge financial, social and environmental costs.
Associated health risks include premature death, lung cancer, hearing impairment and numerous other problems.
ZE-Gen is a collaborative initiative by the Carbon Trust and Innovate UK with ZE-Gen projects receiving a range of expert support to bring projects to scale.
With support from the IKEA Foundation and the UK Government’s Ayrton Fund, ZE-Gen has brought to life more than 35 localised renewable energy projects across Cote d’Ivoire, Fiji, Malawi, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa, and Uganda.
Despite being home to two-thirds of the world’s population, emerging economies account for only 15% of global clean energy investment, with homes and businesses facing frequent blackouts that can last for weeks at a time, negatively impacting daily lives and business income.
Alongside Rachel Kyte, other speakers include: MoPo, Tony Blair Institute, Mirova asset management, Vodafone, World Health Organisation, The Carbon Trust, SEforALL, IIED and KOC Bridges for Peace
