Following SEforALL and HEC 2022 - SNV's top five takeaways
After a week of discussions, meetings and calls to action in Kigali at this year's SEforALL Forum and the Humanitarian Energy Conference (HEC) that preceded it, the clear message to attendees is that the time for action is now. In the words of the conference organisers – 'we need to be bolder to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7'.
SNV participated in and hosted five side events throughout the HEC and SEforALL conferences. Our speakers from across our organisation reinforced the critical role that localisation plays in energy access, particularly concerning the involvement of local companies and the engagement of local governments. Please see this short video from Martijn Veen, Global Head of Energy, reiterating SNV's key message for the Forum.
Below are our main takeaways from the event:
Providing clean energy in a humanitarian setting that is inclusive and affordable is a challenge.
Providing clean energy services in protracted humanitarian settings through a market-based approach is becoming more common: the sector's challenge is to ensure this is achieved in an inclusive, affordable manner.
Clean energy innovation continued to flourish during the COVID 19 pandemic.
Innovation did not halt during the pandemic considering the many innovative and clean technologies and business models presented. Examples are electric cooking devices, renewable cooling solutions, LPG delivery models and devices to unlock carbon finance.
There is a need for more diversity and localisation in terms of financing.
Still, today it is clear that most of the available investment flows to the 'usual suspects' in the clean energy space. There is a need for local clean energy SMEs' to access finance through tailored finance products and investment readiness support.
End-user subsidies have a part to play but still have challenges.
End-user subsidies seem to be gaining more acceptance; however, there are still questions around to ensure it reaches the intended beneficiaries and does not distort the market
The challenges around meeting SDG7 are aplenty.
However, there are some rays of hope, too, particularly in expediting the pace of progress with enthusiasm and optimism.
To learn more
To learn more about SNV at the SEforALL Forum, visit here. To learn more about the importance of localisation in energy access, please read the following articles: