Green Climate Fund Makes Largest Investment Yet
In its largest investment to date, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) is teaming up with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to contribute $1 billion to the Egyptian Government’s Sustainable Energy Strategy.
Under the sustainable energy strategy, Egypt has set a goal to get 20% of its energy from low emissions renewable by 2022 and 37% by 2035. Currently, only 3% of the nation’s energy is supplied by renewable sources. “Utilising renewable energy is part of a national plan to diversify electricity generation sources to meet growing demand and secure the continuity of the electricity supply. … Egypt has a great, untapped potential to turn into an international renewable energy hub,” Ayman Hamza, a spokesman for Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity, told the United Nations’ Climate Action publication in May 2017.
The GCF funding, called the Egypt Renewable Energy Financing Framework, will “launch the first wave of private renewable energy projects in Egypt, overcoming financial barriers due to uncertainty and high transaction costs, as well as the macroeconomic situation which has resulted in increased cost of capital and limited availability of debt,” according to a GCF fact sheet.
CIFOR