The Green Grids Investment Dialogue consultation launches

The Climate Parliament has launched a consultation process with international CEOs and investors (public and private) to develop a joint proposition to politicians which will set out policy recommendations designed to unleash the massive surge needed in green infrastructure investment and development to power the clean energy revolution.

Following the consultation– called the Green Grids Investment Dialogue – an event will be held bringing investors, regulators and legislators together to discuss and debate what is needed to strengthen the framework for investment in green energy infrastructure across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the small island states. What steps do national legislators and energy regulators need to take to achieve a massive increase in renewable energy investment across the developing world?

A statement will then be published during COP28 in Dubai, outlining the specific policy levers called for by the business and investment community to help them spearhead the commercialisation of innovative clean energy infrastructure projects, including continental scale ‘green grids’ globally.

The intention of the statement will be to create a new policy framework for adoption by legislators around the world, creating a ‘playbook’ for governments to proactively support the creation of new green infrastructure at speed and scale and to leverage the widespread private sector appetite to invest.

This will be published prior to COP28 and will kickstart an ongoing dialogue on these issues between the public and private sectors.

Initiatives to be considered will include:

• Renewable energy development zones

• Clean energy tariffs and minimum pricing

• Publicly funded risk reduction

• Clear political and financial linkage between renewable energy development and grid capacity building

The consultation is being contributed to by the Climate Parliament CEO and Investor Council, whose co-conveners include:

• Anand Mahindra, head of the Mahindra Group, one of India’s largest industrial conglomerates

• Norman Moyo, CEO of Distributed Power Africa

• Paddy Padmanathan, CEO of ACWA Power, which has built many of the world’s largest solar power stations

• Audrey Zibelman former lead of Tapestry, which Alphabet calls its “moonshot for the electric grid,” and former head of the New York State energy regulator and the Australian grid

The core purpose of the CEO and Investor Council is to explore the creation of ‘green grid accelerators’ – establishing consortia of developers, manufacturers and investors to propose and build large-scale renewable energy power stations (including solar and wind farms), alongside long-distance transmission infrastructure.

This will be achieved in concert with a wider network of public and private stakeholders coordinated by the Climate Parliament, including the Harvard Negotiation Project and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Nick Dunlop, Secretary-General of the Climate Parliament, said:

“According to research, at least $21 trillion needs to be invested in global grid and energy transmission infrastructure to support the transition to net zero. At least as much again will be needed for energy production itself.

“Much of this will need to come from the private sector – the business community will be central to the creation of new, clean energy economy, and must be engaged with and listened to by governments as they develop and adopt policies to support the net zero mission, to comply with the Paris Agreement and to continue building renewable energy capacity.

“Through this consultation we’re seeking to help bridge the gap between private enterprise and the legislative process – helping governments put in place policy which is geared towards unlocking the combined potential of public and private investment to change our world and advance the creation of the massive-scale renewable energy development we need, alongside innovative new energy markets.

“What is essential is ensuring that business has the right policy environment to thrive, and to make the most of the economic opportunity that the net zero transition provides.

“Dialogue is vital, and in the run up to COP28 – where we hope to have constructive, actionable conversations between governments and business which will accelerate the delivery of clean energy projects - we’re looking forward to working with the international business community to ensure that talk on climate change results in real action.”