ACCESS welcomed the COP28’s landmark outcomes including the decision to “transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner” as a way to achieve net zero by 2050, and the progressive commitment by 130 countries that endorsed the Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge on tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling the energy efficiency rate by 2030.

However, the historic decision on transitioning from fossil fuels fell short of including the required finance flow that is much needed by developing countries to facilitate their transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

At COP28, ACCESS called for increased financing towards energy access in the Global South. There’s an urgency to invest in renewable energy as a cost-effective mechanism to improve energy access given the untapped vast resources of solar and wind energy.

ACCESS and other civil society organizations under the Big Shift Global Campaign submitted a petition to the World Bank Vice President, External Relations, Jay Heimbach. The key asks to the bank included: increasing funding for renewable energy in order to scale up affordable clean energy access for all and stop funding fossil fuels, guarantee that the financing of renewable energy projects does not lead developing countries into more debt and further entrench energy poverty and commit to greater transparency in decision making and consultation on investments with communities.

Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) are the biggest financiers of energy globally. During COP28, the MDBs committed $61 billion of climate finance for low- and middle-income economies.

The Global Electric Cooking Coalition (GeCCo) was formally lauched at COP28 by the Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) Programme in partnership with Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) Energising Development (EnDEv) and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL). The goal of GeCCo is to scale up electric cooking transition in a just and inclusive way.

Meanwhile, the African Women Clean Cooking Support Programme (AWCCSP) was launched by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan. The programme aims to provide clean cooking solutions to nearly one billion people with clean cooking solutions by 2032. President Suluhu underscored the benefits of promoting clean cooking. “Clean cooking energy is about mitigation, women empowerment and welfare. Women and girls bear the brunt of lack of sustainable energy cooking solutions,” she said.

According to The International Energy Agency (IEA), Africa will need $4 billion every year to meet clean cooking energy needs of 250 million people. AfDB’s President Akinwumi Adesina pronounced the Bank’s commitment to give 20 percent of the Bank’s annual funding to clean cooking.

The Loss and Damage fund that was established in last year’s COP summit in Egypt, was operationalization at COP28 and received a funding commitment of over $720 million. The fund will support developing countries that are vulnerable to climate impacts.

While the COP decisions on clean energy are a step in the right direction, there is a need for more action of holding the states, and non-state actors to honour their commitments and prioritize funding decentralised energy systems and clean cooking. These are the fastest and most reliable approaches to accelerate clean energy access for last mile communities and avert the negative impacts of climate change.