16. 05. 2025
AUTHOR: Anne-Sophie Cerisola and Linda Kalcher
The EU and the UK have both launched initiatives to accelerate the global energy transition; their summit on 19 May is a good opportunity to show alignment.
Why does the Global Energy Transition Forum matter?
COP30 in Belém coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement. In the past 10 years, the European Union’s cooperation with key partners has been instrumental in delivering key outcomes. One of the highlights of this partnership has been the decision taken at COP28 in Dubai to clearly spell out pathways to get to a global net-zero emissions by 2050 and conditions to keep the 1.5°C goal within reach. The decision taken in Dubai to transition away from fossil fuels, triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency was taken by governments with the full knowledge that such a transition, albeit difficult, was necessary and doable as long as it was fair and cooperative. In fact, the «just, equitable and orderly» energy transition must remain the key priority, given that energy emissions represent 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
With the Global Energy Transition Forum (GETF) launched by the President of the European Commission in Davos this year, the EU has created the strategic and potentially impactful space that was missing from the global landscape to: (i) allow leaders to exchange views on lessons learned and roadblocks; (ii) have ministers deliver on concrete financial and technical solutions with the help of the industry and the financial sector; (iii) showcase concrete outcomes, from new country platforms created to accelerate a systemic shift to renewable energy and provide universal access to electricity to large-scale projects on grids, etc.
What can be achieved by COP30?
In the months before the Leaders-level events, the Commission will convene at the UNGA and ideally with Brazil for COP30, it will be important that the EU actively contributes to jump-starting the political momentum on the just, equitable and orderly clean energy transition. The public at large and leaders of business, financial institutions and non-governmental actors need to be relentlessly reminded of the economic, industrial and social upsides of the clean energy transition. The dynamism of the renewable energy sector alone has surpassed even the most optimistic expectations: for the past five years, solar energy has provided the cheapest electricity in history. Concrete examples of the policy tools designed by the EU to help energy-poor or vulnerable populations could benefit other countries once shared and discussed more visibly. Opportunities to organise high-level dialogues and experience-sharing moments already exist and should be seized: they range from the EU-African Union, EU-China, EU-India or EU-Latin America Summits in the coming months to the Clean Energy Ministerial in late August, the UN General Assembly in September and the preparatory meetings for COP30.
It will be as important to showcase concrete progress made on the delivery of the tripling of renewables goal. First, the EU itself can showcase how it is transitioning away from fossil fuels in its 2035 climate plan (“NDC”), and upcoming decisions on Liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be a marker of the EU’s own real ambition. Second, in countries supported by the Global Gateway, the EU can show tangible results on projects it supports or seeks to initiate on electrification, grids, storage, sustainable fuels, bioenergy, or critical energy transition minerals. As always, any concrete project will have to be country-owned and -led, possibly in the framework of country platforms, which should facilitate coordinated access to finance and technical means of implementation. Letting governments coordinate themselves with the many existing public and private actors and multi-stakeholder initiatives intervening in their clean energy transition space is essential and should be a prerequisite. Established country platforms (in Indonesia, South Africa or Bangladesh) have taught us important lessons on « dos and don’ts » – the most important being the predictability and accessibility of finance.
How can the financial support be scaled up?
The Forum is the right place to mobilise private investors and International Financial Institutions (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, World Bank, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank) to improve commercial and concessional offers to clean energy project developers, on de-risking tools for clean energy investments, and on the upgrade of the global financial architecture, particularly aimed at closing the financing gap for developing and emerging economies. Again, collaboration with existing initiatives such as the UK-led Global Clean Power Alliance (GCPA) will be essential. The summit on 19 May is a good occasion to discuss how to do this concretely.
The EU can also involve its business and private sector upfront in the cooperation to ensure that the overall finance going to partner countries grows. Whilst it’s a business opportunity for European companies, it can be assured that it fosters sustainable development in the partner countries, through joint ventures, growing local energy companies, knowledge and capacity. Mutually beneficial partnerships can become the core of the EU’s renewed diplomatic approach, as seen with the initiation of a Clean Trade and Investment Partnership with South Africa.
Last but not least, it will be essential that the Global Gateway funding is scaled up under the next EU budget to ensure that it fully supports the Forum’s potential and priorities. The demand from and opportunity in developing countries are there. Many pledges have been made; it’s time to deliver them and showcase the success stories as a drumbeat towards COP30.
