Climate Change Pillar: Clean Energy
 A USAID-supported green jobs program trains youth in Brazil to install solar panels to power a community computer center. Photo: Luis Massilon, IDER
According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 2009 World Energy Outlook report, world primary energy demand is projected to increase by 40 percent by 2030, with developing countries in Asia as the main source of demand. Without substantial changes in energy policies, fossil fuels are likely to account for more than 75 percent of the overall increase in energy use. Continued heavy reliance on fossil fuels will result in growing levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over coming years. The IEA predicts that emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the most significant GHG, will increase around 40 percent between 2007 and 2030. Developing countries (especially China, India, and the Middle East) are expected to account for all of the expected increase in energy-related CO2 emissions. An additional challenge is supplying energy for the 1.6 billion people who lack access to modern energy services, such as electricity, and the more than 2 billion people who rely on traditional fuels for cooking in the developing world. USAID supports climate-friendly interventions in the energy sector to minimize energy-related growth in GHG emissions while helping countries develop their economies and meet poverty reduction goals.
The clean energy portfolio supports U.S. Government goals and, more broadly, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process to promote and implement long-term, sustainable, low-emission, climate-resilient development. This program aims to help developing countries to:
- create and implement national strategies for meaningful, lasting emissions reductions;
- put in place climate-friendly policy reforms;
- establish effective systems for monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of GHG emissions;
- prepare for and participate in international carbon markets;
- mobilize private investment to meet mitigation goals; and
- achieve commitments set forth in international agreements.
USAID’s clean energy programs and activities reduce climate change by promoting the sustainable use of renewable energy technologies, energy efficient end-use technologies, carbon sequestration, and carbon accounting. Illustrative activities include supporting the development and implementation of Low Emission Development Strategies (LEDS), supporting legal and policy frameworks necessary for energy efficiency, enabling the transfer and adoption of renewable energy technology, such as solar and wind, reforming energy markets to ensure more transparency and encourage investment, and building national and private sector capacity to monitor and manage GHG emissions. One example of USAID’s support for the development and adoption of clean energy technologies is the PFAN partnership described below.
Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN)
Additional resources include:
The Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN) is a multilateral, public-private partnership supported by USAID. It was initiated by the Climate Technology Initiative (CTI) in cooperation with the UNFCCC Expert Group on Technology Transfer to support the technology transfer objectives of the Convention. PFAN helps bridge the gap between investments and clean energy businesses. Clean energy projects often encounter difficulties in attracting private financing because project developers and sponsors do not know how to give the right “pitch” for resources. PFAN helps developers overcome this difficulty by bridging the gap between a good idea and sources of private clean energy finance by assisting project sponsors to develop comprehensive, bankable project proposals. In 2008, USAID joined and expanded PFAN from a pilot to a global network, opening access to this innovative clean energy financing tool to USAID Missions interested in promoting low-carbon clean energy projects. PFAN has expanded significantly in recent years with the establishment of Regional Networks of organizations and investors in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, with another network under preparation for the Commonwealth of Independent States and Eastern Europe. As of late 2010, the development pipeline includes 101 projects representing about $2.4 billion worth of investment, with many more clean energy projects expected to enter the pipeline over the next few years.
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