New ‘impact-driven’ energy transition acceleration outfit Greenmap has inked an agreement with the United Nation’s Environment Programme (UNEP) to collaborate on speeding up decarbonisation of the power sector in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU), which “lays the basis for strategic cooperation that will focus on areas of common concern and interest”, will focus on renewable project development, power sector analysis, credit enhancement tools, risk mitigation and programme-based guarantee design and implementation.
“This MOU formalises the ambition of both institutions and UNEP’s endorsement towards Greenmap to accelerate deployment of renewable generation in Latin America,” said Sebastian Kind, co-founder and chairman of Greenmap, an acronym of Global Renewable Energy Mass Adoption Program.
“We need to push for a decarbonised, clean and better world in support of the climate goals and the 2030 UN sustainable development agenda. I am pleased that we have joined forces towards achieving renewable energy for all.”
Gustau Mañez, UNEP’s climate change coordinator for LAC, said: “It is estimated that we need to quadruple the rate of installation of renewable energy generation systems to decarbonise the region's economies by 2050, yet there is a large financing gap to make this happen.
“This partnership with Greenmap seeks to identify opportunities to attract and channel much-needed finance to reduce emissions while creating sustainable jobs in the context of post-Covid recovery.”
Greenmap has been set up to speed up deployment of renewable generation in developing economies by providing direct support to governments in the “design and implementation of stable regulatory frameworks, competitive procurement processes, and new financial and credit enhancement tools”.
“We focus on implementation to facilitate bankability, foster competition and boost the local and foreign investments needed to materialize project installations, local economic and social development, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” it said.
The founders of Greenmap include former Argentinian government officials involved in the landmark Renovar tender programme that mobilised investment of some $7bn into the South American nation's renewables expansion.
BloombergNEF in its most recent global energy transition investment report calculated that clean power production, electrification and hydrogen together supercharged this capital spend to reach a record $755bn last year.
