New partnerships with Ethiopia and the ASEAN Centre for Energy, alongside a first wave of delivery in Brazil, the Eastern Caribbean and East Africa, mark the Finance Mission’s first anniversary
10 November 2026 | UK Pavilion, Antalya, Türkiye
A year after publishing its first country action plans at COP30, the Global Clean Power Alliance (GCPA) Finance Mission showed at COP31 how it is turning clean energy ambition into investment on the ground in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs).
The Finance Mission also welcomed two new partners: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Centre for Energy (ACE), its first partnership in Asia, and Ethiopia, the incoming COP32 President. Together they give the Finance Mission a truly global footprint.
To mark this anniversary, around 200 government representatives, multilateral development banks, investors and delivery partners came together at the ‘Powering Progress: Mobilising Investment in Clean Electrification’ UK Pavilion event and online.
Opening the event, Katie White MP, the UK’s Minister for Climate Transition, said recent global energy market disruptions and extreme weather have reinforced the case for accelerating clean electrification to strengthen energy security, affordability and resilience. With the UK as co-chair, Minister White highlighted the Finance Mission’s focus of turning countries’ clean electrification ambitions into investable projects by strengthening institutions, developing pipelines and using public finance to crowd in private capital.
A first year of delivery
Working with its strategic delivery partners, the World Bank Group and the Green Finance Institute, the Finance Mission showcased at COP31 that it is now backing country-led investment priorities with practical support, including:
- Brazil: launching the first call for proposals under a new Project Preparation Facility, linked to the Brazil Investment Platform (BIP). The BIP has identified projects representing around US$26 billion in projected investment in green industry and the energy transition.
- Eastern Caribbean: up to £8.7m through the World Bank Group led Resilient Renewable Energy Infrastructure Investment Facility (RREIIF). This will expand the platform to more countries, align standards and bring projects to market together, creating larger, lower-risk opportunities for investors.
- East Africa: US$4 million of new UK support through ESMAP to strengthen the East Africa Power Pool under the World Bank Group’s RETRADE East Africa programme, building the regulatory foundations for cross-border electricity trade. In Tanzania, a further US$2 million ESMAP programme is opening a credible route for private investment in generation and transmission, in support of the country’s National Energy Compact.
The Finance Mission announcements at COP31 can be read in full here.
From plans to bankable projects
A recurring message from the UK Pavilion COP31 event on 10 November was that ambition alone does not attract capital: countries need pipelines of investment-ready projects.
Julia Cruz, Brazil’s Secretary for Green Economy, Decarbonisation and Bioindustry set out how its newly launched Project Preparation Facility will improve project preparedness and bankability and help identified projects reach financing, pointing to emerging opportunities in green hydrogen, green steel and green fertilisers.
In the Pacific, the UK and New Zealand-supported Transforming Island Development through Electrification and Sustainability (TIDES) initiative pairs a US$100 million renewable energy investment fund with a US$10 million Market Development Facility. Stuart Calman, New Zealand’s Climate Change Ambassador, highlighted that this is building a pipeline of smaller projects across on-grid renewables, commercial and industrial solar, and rural energy access.
Using public finance to unlock private capital
Speakers agreed that concessional finance should be used with much greater precision and works best when it is targeted at the specific barriers keeping private investors out.
Tariye Gbadegesin, CEO, of the Climate Investment Funds, highlighted guarantees, first-loss capital and junior equity as tools to de-risk projects where conventional finance falls short. Relatedly, Ambassador Stuart Calman stressed the value of combining first-loss public capital with project development support.
In an example of strengthening cooperation behind country-led goals, Demetrios Papathanasiou, Global Director of the Energy Global Department at the World Bank Group announced plans for a new guarantee facility with the Climate Investment Funds to support solar- and wind-plus-storage projects in small island developing states (SIDS). H.E. Dr Vince Henderson, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business, Trade and Energy, Dominica showed what de-risking can achieve: a new 10MW geothermal plant, made bankable with the help of GEF guarantees, is coming online in 2026.
Grids and whole-system thinking
Another message from the event was that while renewable generation is growing fast, speakers warned that investment must also flow into grids, storage and the electrification of transport, buildings and industry.
Sir Jonathan Taylor, Chair of the Green Finance Institute summed up the priorities as “FIDs, SIDS and grids”: reaching final investment decisions on clean industrial projects, supporting small island states, and financing grids, including cross-border interconnections that connect renewable resources with growing demand.
Zoisa North-Bond, Chief Executive Office of Octopus Energy Generation and Octopus Energy for Business Octopus Energy made the case for a whole-system approach, drawing on examples from Sierra Leone and the Eastern Caribbean. Renewable generation, storage, grids and consumer technologies can work together to deliver more affordable power and attract private investment, and data from pilot projects can help stimulate new industries.
Next stop: COP32 in Ethiopia
Closing the event, Dr. Michael Mehari Moges, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Water and Energy, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia set out Ethiopia’s ambitions as the Finance Mission’s newest partner. Its National Electrification Programme 3.0 aims to deliver universal access by 2035, with estimated investment of around US$18 billion, of which roughly US$11 billion is expected from development partners, alongside substantial private participation. Through the partnership, Ethiopia aims to strengthen project preparation, improve investment conditions and mobilise private finance, linking clean electrification to industrialisation, jobs and affordable energy for all.
As work continues into 2027 and towards COP32, the Finance Mission will continue working with partner countries and ‘Friends of the Finance Mission’ to unlock the private finance needed to deliver their clean energy ambitions.
Find out more
Watch the full event recording on the UK Pavilion YouTube channel.
Read all GCPA Finance Mission country action plans on gov.uk.
Read the latest GCPA Finance Mission progress update (November 2026), including details on new partnerships and announcements on gov.uk.
All past progress updates of the GCPA Finance Mission and Supply Chain Mission can be found on gov.uk.