Climate Day at Confluence's 11th Annual Practitioners Gathering rounded out with an energizing conversation discussing how we can invest our financial resources to end energy poverty by investing in women internationally. “Providing Energy Access to All by Investing in Women” was the call to action and the subject of the Closing Keynote - Riverside Chat between powerful advocates Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO of Sustainable Energy for All and Special Representative for the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All; the Honorable Mary Robinson, Chair of the Elders, Former President of Ireland and UN Commissioner for Human Rights; as well as Heather Grady, Vice President of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
Because of the failure of governments to act at scale, finance has played a vital role in progress to date, driven largely by activists demanding investors divest from fossil fuels and governments stop subsidizing the polluting industry. Ellen Dorsey, Executive Director of the Wallace Global Fund, reminded us in her introductory remarks that “the movement has also called on investors to rapidly invest in renewables and clean technology to scale solutions on pace with the timetable to get out of fossil fuels…business as usual is not an option.”
A recent International Energy Agency (IEA) report spelled out that financing for green energy must triple by 2030 in order to meet net zero goals. And while philanthropy should triple our investment in renewables alongside all other investors, we must also examine where we can uniquely scale energy solutions that are also just, equitable, and transformative to communities. In a world where about 850 million people do not have access to electricity, but can now be reached with small scale, renewable energy systems, philanthropy should prioritize investing in energy access. And the good news is that access to electricity benefits women, communities, and poverty alleviation while reducing demand for fossil fuels.
President Robinson pointed out in her remarks – the world is currently not on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030. Investing in women is not only vital to achieving this goal, but it will also create corollary benefits for education, health, and development.
The lack of electricity disproportionately impacts women who bear the brunt of security risks and missed opportunities that limited access to energy poses to societies. Despite this inequity, women continue to lead the way in climate action around the world, and as philanthropic funders, our investments must support closing the energy access gap. In order to support the efforts of female climate leaders worldwide, investors must rapidly direct their investments to renewables and clean tech to fuel solutions.
Damilola Ogunbiyi poignantly outlined how when women have access to electricity, opportunities to support themselves and their families expand. In the era of COVID-19, we have seen firsthand the importance of having strong infrastructure to support public health – energy access allows rural health clinics to store vaccines and other essential medicines for healthy mothers and babies. Access to cleaner energy sources for women to cook meals for their families could dramatically improve the air quality and health for millions of women in emerging economies.
Ogunbiyi also stated that women can earn over 50 percent more income by having energy which empowers them as entrepreneurs. This data demonstrates why energy access is an important human right that all of us need to invest in and why we cannot afford to have financing gaps stand in the way of achieving energy access for all. Therefore, philanthropic funders must examine where our investments in solutions should be directed to fill gaps in the market to ensure women everywhere are afforded the right to power.
One initiative doing this is Shine, a campaign for funders and faith investors to align investments and grants to scale energy access through a community development and women’s empowerment lens. Shine unlocks new sources of financing and connects communities, local government, and entrepreneurs to investors to close the energy access gap that can support women’s empowerment, economic growth, and educational opportunities around the world. Our capital as philanthropic funders could be pivotal – early seed capital, scaling and replicating viable enterprises would be transformative to achieving the SDGs and supporting women and energy access.
As President Robinson asked, how can we “build forward” with justice and equity? This is a rallying question we should answer in our work as philanthropic funders by utilizing finance as a powerful tool for social change and human rights. As Confluence members, we have a unique opportunity to have transformative and rapid impact by prioritizing investments in women-led and women-owned enterprises advancing small-scale, safe, and affordable clean energy systems. By aligning our investment portfolios to scale up energy access and female leadership, foundations and other mission-driven investors can do our part in using our financial power for good and ensuring that no one is left behind in the just transition to a low-carbon economy.
- Kidan Araya, Climate Finance Fellow, Wallace Global Fund
