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Review of 2025 and outlook for 2026

29 January 2026

What you will find in this update from the ETC

The ETC at COP30 – our highlights

We held the 11th ETC Ministerial jointly with the COP30 Presidency, CETP and COFFIS. The priorities identified in this high-profile event, co-chaired by the climate ministers of three countries, Brazil, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, are to:

  1. Align finance and policy by accelerating the realignment of international public finance with the Paris Agreement and fossil fuel subsidy reform, and by strengthening country-led planning linked to updated NDCs. This will create the conditions for mobilising clean energy investment on the scale required by the Global Stocktake.
  2. Put people at the centre by ensuring reforms expand energy access, empower workers and strengthen communities, and deliver tangible benefits that build trust and leave no one behind.
  3. Scale through collaboration by supporting governments, MDBs, private finance and technical partners to turn disparate efforts into system-wide progress, especially for expanding grid networks and storage solutions, and for deploying large-scale renewables.

Going forward, the ETC will be supporting the 2028 Global Stocktake process, as part of Action Agenda Axis 1 ‘Transitioning Energy, Industry and Transport’. Our focus will be on objective 4 to ‘transition away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner’.

The second highlight at COP30 was our joint ETC–Instituto Talanoa dialogue at the WWF Pavilion which focused on accelerating Brazil’s energy transition. Participants included the E+ Institute and Instituto de Energia e Meio Ambiente (IEMA).

The two key takeaways are that:

  1. Brazil has significant structural advantages for a rapid, just transition, but coordinated policy action and stronger alignment between climate goals, planning and regulation are essential.
  2. Brazil’s strong renewable electricity base offers a strategic advantage, but moving toward a credible fossil fuel phase-out will require clearer targets, more coordinated planning, and safeguards to ensure fuel-switching strategies support climate and land-use goals.

Speakers emphasised the need for coherent planning across sectors, stronger governance and clear transition pathways that protect both people and the economy.

The ETC will continue to engage with partners in Brazil on these themes, as well as share success stories from its partner countries, including outcomes from relevant technical assistance projects. The ETC RRF model for coordinating support could also be applied to Brazil. Find out more on our website, including also our joint briefing note with Talanoa on Brazilian energy transition dynamics.

ETC engagement in Latin America in 2025

In 2025, the ETC expanded support to Latin America, helping bring local and international partners together and mobilise political ambition for the clean energy transition in this region. Our aim is to help countries deliver ambitious NDCs and contribute to the COP28 Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency goal.

Regional dialogue in Panama

In May 2025, we co-hosted a high-level regional dialogue on the energy transition in Latin America and the Caribbean, together with E3G, Instituto Talanoa and Transforma. It was a key event at the UN Climate Week in Panama, leading up to COP30 in Belém.

Collaborative dialogue plays a key role in helping identify the right priorities for our own work, as well as guiding partners and others supporting the clean energy transition. This event brought together over 30 leaders representing governments, energy experts, civil society, multilateral development banks (MDBs) and the private sector across the region.

Discussions focused on identifying challenges and opportunities for renewable energy deployment, as well as pathways for a just transition away from fossil fuels and strengthening regional collaboration.

The dialogue:

  • Played a crucial role in linking global ambition to regional action, based on the Global Stocktake, to keep the 1.5°C goal within reach
  • Gave a clear signal that Latin America and the Caribbean is at the forefront of delivering self-reliant, inclusive low-carbon electricity systems.

Indeed, the region is ready to go further: shaping what a just, inclusive and prosperous energy transition looks like in practice.

A briefing note published by us, E3G and Talanoa offers a synthesis of views and recommendations from the dialogue to support the COP30 leadership on how to advance the clean energy transition. Find out more on our website.

The ETC at the Africa Climate Summit

One of the ETC’s areas of focus in 2025 was Africa, looking to build momentum for the continent’s growing role in climate diplomacy. It also looked at it being a proactive partner and a solutions hub for climate change challenges as well as at the economic opportunities being presented, with a view to COP32 which will held in Ethiopia in 2027.

The ETC engaged before, during and after the second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) hosted by the Ethiopian government and the African Union in Addis Ababa in September 2025. We actively contributed to the Just Energy Transition side event, feeding into the declaration and ACS2 outcomes. We were also represented in the INGO and Environmental Cluster and explored opportunities for collaboration with key African partners, including Accelerated Partnerships for Renewables in Africa (APRA).

Continuing support for partner countries

In parallel to these new efforts, we continued strong and regular engagement in all 11 ETC partner countries including support with ongoing technical assistance through our Rapid Response Facility (RRF). In this newsletter we put the spotlight on the Philippines.

The ETC has always had a strong link with the Philippines, co-chair of the ETC since 2023, with a large number of technical assistance projects completed over the years and regular high-level dialogues. In December 2025 we returned for the 5th Philippines national dialogue. Our co-hosts at the British Embassy in Manila this time were UNOPS SEA Energy Transition Partnership (ETP), UNDP and WWF-Philippines.

The agenda focused on ‘Building on Progress: Lessons, Partnerships and Priorities for the Philippine Energy Transition’ which included:

  • A review of progress and lessons learned from ETC-supported technical assistance projects, delivered by partners as part of our RRF
  • Discussion on the opportunities and challenges of carbon markets in the Philippines, highlighting their potential as a key source of climate finance and a driver of the clean energy transition, while emphasising integrity, transparency and clear use of proceeds
  • Panel discussion on how the Philippines can strategically position itself for a pivotal 2026 as it assumes key regional and global roles, including taking on the role of ASEAN Co-Chair.

Find out more about ETC engagement in the Philippines, and the other ETC partner countries.

Our plans for 2026

Here is a brief preview of what we’re looking forward to working on this year:

  • The next monthly RRF Coordination Group meeting on 29 January with invitations to RRF spokes already in your inboxes
  • A Lao PDR national dialogue scheduled for February 2026
  • A Pakistan national dialogue in Q2 of 2026
  • Engaging the COP31 and 32 presidencies, as well as preparing for key convenings around the world
  • Working directly with our partners to identify further opportunities for support, such as on the Data-to-Deal framework from the Climate Compatible Growth (CCG) programme
  • Coordinating responses to recent and new RRF requests from partner countries
  • We are considering closer alignment of the ETC with the Global Clean Power Alliance (GCPA) Finance Mission to create a single, streamlined platform for advancing clean energy finance and delivery.

A few words from the Head of the ETC

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all ETC members, partner governments, institutions, technical partners and civil society organisations for your continued engagement and collaboration throughout 2025. Your leadership, expertise and commitment have been central to advancing a just, orderly and equitable energy transition across regions. We look forward to building on this collective momentum in 2026 as we continue working together to turn ambition into impact.

Abu Zaki, UK Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ)

Recent and upcoming publications

During 2025, we published:

And in 2026: