BP, Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies have joined forces to improve global access to energy, committing a joint investment of $500 million for key regions over the coming years.
The funding supports the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 (UN SDG7), which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.
With $500 million of committed capital, the joint investment seeks to support promising, high-impact projects, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, aiming to help millions of people in underserved communities gain access to electricity and improved cooking conditions.
Their shared intent is for the committed capital to be invested in a broad range of solutions, including solar home systems, mini/metro grids, clean cooking solutions, and enabling technologies (such as e-mobility, energy storage and management solutions).
Over the coming years this has the potential to support UN SDG 7 while also generating co-benefits like job creation and improved health outcomes.
Despite ongoing efforts, progress towards universal energy access has stalled, particularly amidst recent macroeconomic shocks and rising energy prices.
In 2022, the number of people without access to electricity globally increased by around 10 million to 685 million. Additionally, approximately 2.1 billion people, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, lack access to clean cooking facilities, disproportionately impacting women and girls who often bear the brunt of domestic responsibilities.
“It is early days, but we hope that by jointly investing, we will be able to contribute to wider efforts to tackle the very real challenge of access to energy. Over time, we believe it can help to create a more inclusive energy future for some of the many millions of people who lack that access today,” said Murray Auchincloss, CEO of BP.
A global private equity firm with a strong track record in impact investing, has been selected to manage the joint investment.
“This joint investment brings together four leading energy companies investing in emerging countries. We believe this effort will help close some of the energy access gaps, which is a key part in reaching the global ambition of a just and equitable energy transition,” added Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor.
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