In this section
In this sectionTransforming Energy Access, funded by UK aid, and UNITAR’s Global Platform for Action join forces to prioritise collaborative action and inclusive responses to sustainable energy provision in displacement settings.
June 20th, 2023 marks a significant shift in global energy programming in refugee contexts through the materialisation of a new approach in the humanitarian energy sphere via new funding for a collaboration between the Global Platform for Action on Sustainable Energy in Displacement Settings (GPA) and the Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform. TEA works via partnerships to support emerging clean energy generation technologies, productive appliances, smart networks, energy storage and more. It increases access to clean, modern energy services for people and enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, improving their lives, creating employment and boosting green economic opportunities. The partnership between TEA and the GPA will ensure Sustainable Development Goal 7 (access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy) is achieved in displacement contexts by 2030 and will strengthen the “leave no one behind” agenda in the clean energy transitions in displacement settings.
To achieve its core objective, TEA has partnered with the GPA to include displaced people in the sustainable energy transition. The Transforming Humanitarian Energy Access (THEA) programme is the first of its kind and will ensure that more inclusive approaches are adopted within the humanitarian energy sector and beyond. It will foster refugee-led action within humanitarian energy programming and implement inclusive practices to increase refugee-led engagement and employment in the humanitarian energy sector. THEA will facilitate displaced people in accessing policy-making and strategic decision-making spaces to support the development of new alternative financing to enable renewable energy access in humanitarian situations.
The THEA programme will deliver transformative action in humanitarian settings by working with TEA platform partners to mainstream energy access in humanitarian environments. This will be delivered by providing expert advice on the needs of refugees, internally displaced people, and all displaced people to inform innovators and international energy access projects. THEA plans to collaborate with humanitarian energy specialist partners, including Global Refugee-led Network (GRN), Ashden, and Chatham House, to build inclusive partnerships in sustainable energy. The programme will support policy and decision-making processes on humanitarian energy investments by fostering systematic change within the UN system and humanitarian partners. The following activities will shape the core areas of work under the THEA programme:
- Enhancing the “leave no one behind” agenda through a provision of inclusionary analysis and innovative evidence on the energy needs of all displaced people.
- Enabling transformative policy change to deliver access to clean energy for refugees and forcibly displaced people.
- Supporting climate action and radical decarbonisation in humanitarian settings while reducing costs for displaced people.
- Delivering high-quality evidence and data with displaced people.
- Developing alternative investment delivery models to encourage inclusive investment.
If your organisation is keen to be part of the revolutionary shift we are bringing in the humanitarian sector, contact us at energy@unitar.org / TEAadmin@carbontrust.com
Read about the Key Issues on Leave No One Behind Barriers, Transformative UN Change, Decarbonisation, Inclusive Investments.
About the Transforming Energy Access Platform
Transforming Energy Access (TEA) is the flagship FCDO research and innovation programme supporting early-stage testing and scale-up of innovative technologies and business models that accelerate access to affordable, clean energy for poor households, enterprises, and social institutions in developing countries across sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Indo-Pacific. This includes support to innovations across the three Ayrton Fund themes of clean supply, super-efficient demand and smart delivery, as well as integration of solutions across the three. In late 2021, a £126m scale-up of the platform was announced at COP26, further advancing TEA into a major delivery platform for the Ayrton Fund focused on delivering innovations enabling a Just Transition for the 733 million people who still lack access to electricity and the 2.4 billion people who cook using fuels detrimental to their health and the environment.
Last updated: 10/07/2023