Latest news with #carbonfinance
Zawya
22-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
African Development Bank's Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) supports electric cooking expansion across three African nations
The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) ( is tackling charcoal dependence in Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia with a $4 million reimbursable grant. This grant will fund the Burn Electric Cooking Expansion Program (BEEP), deploying 115,000 Burn ECOA Electric Induction Cookers to provide clean cooking solutions for low-income, grid-connected households currently relying on charcoal. Burn, a Kenya-based clean cookstove company and carbon developer with operations in over 10 African countries, will implement BEEP. This program makes clean cooking appliances more affordable and accessible by prefinancing induction cookers and recovering costs through carbon credit sales in the voluntary market. This innovative model combines carbon-backed subsidies with pay-as-you-go payment plans, significantly lowering upfront costs for end-users. Capitalised through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), the Program is funded by a $5 million senior loan from the Spark+ Africa Fund, a $4 million reimbursable grant from SEFA, and $1 million in equity from Burn Manufacturing Company. This SPV will partner with Burn to manage sales, distribution, and servicing of the cookers. The appliances will generate carbon credits, owned by the SPV, with revenues shared among investors. Dr. Daniel Schroth, Director for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at the African Development Bank Group, stated, 'This marks the Bank's first carbon finance transaction of its kind, with SEFA playing a critical role in mitigating carbon market risks and enhancing the Program's financial sustainability.' The program aligns with SEFA's thematic area on Energy Efficiency, catalysing private sector investments in efficient appliances and promoting scale-up of clean cooking technologies. It also supports the Mission 300 Initiative and the Bank's New Deal on Energy for Africa, which aim to deliver universal energy access through low-carbon solutions. 'We are honoured to receive this catalytic investment from the African Development Bank's Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa—their first-ever investment in carbon projects focused on electric cooking. This milestone enables BURN to rapidly scale our IoT-enabled induction stove across Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia, providing low-income households with a zero-emission, digitally monitored alternative to charcoal and wood,' said Peter Scott, Founder and CEO, BURN. 'By integrating cutting-edge technology, carbon financing, and mobile-enabled Pay-As-You-Cook models, we are demonstrating that electric cooking can be clean, affordable, and scalable across the continent.' In addition to environmental and health benefits, the program will stimulate job creation and fortify local supply chains within the three target countries, paving the way for a cleaner, more prosperous future for communities across Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB). ABOUT SEFA: SEFA is a multi-donor Special Fund that provides catalytic finance to unlock private sector investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. SEFA offers technical assistance and concessional finance instruments to remove market barriers, build a more robust pipeline of projects and improve the risk-return profile of individual investments. The Fund's overarching goal is to contribute to universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy services for all in Africa, in line with the New Deal on Energy for Africa and the M300. About the African Development Bank Group: The African Development Bank Group is Africa's leading development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). Represented in 41 African countries, with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and social progress of its 54 regional member countries. For more information:
Reuters
07-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
New carbon credit scheme targets 60 plants by 2030 for coal phaseout
Summary Companies Formal guidelines issued for use of carbon finance to shut coal-fired power Plan could mobilise $110 billion in finance, Rockefeller Foundation says SLTEC plant in Philippines first in line to adopt carbon credit scheme SINGAPORE, May 7 (Reuters) - The Rockefeller Foundation aims to sign up 60 projects by 2030 to a new carbon finance scheme for phasing out coal-fired power in developing countries, it said on Wednesday, after its rulebook was given the go-ahead. Around 2,000 coal-fired power plants need to be decommissioned from now until 2040 in order to meet global climate targets, the International Energy Agency says, but only 15% are covered by decommissioning pledges. The Rockefeller Foundation's Coal to Clean Credits Initiative (CCCI) is one of several schemes, opens new tab under development that aim to use carbon finance to help close them earlier than scheduled and replace them with renewable power. "That target of 60 projects by 2030 is our overall goal, our ambition," said Joseph Curtin, who runs the Rockefeller Foundation's "coal to clean" programme. In Singapore on Tuesday, carbon standards organisation Verra launched CCCI's methodology for determining which projects are eligible and how emission reductions from early coal plant shutdowns will be calculated, allowing them to generate carbon credits. The first project to use the methodology will be the South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation (SLTEC) plant in the Philippines, with the transaction expected to be completed next year. "Obviously if we can close one transaction - and we're getting much closer - we think that will have a very strong impact on the market and will hopefully reverberate across the region and send a signal that this is indeed possible." Curtin said his team has identified around 1,000 coal-fired plants in developing countries that would be eligible under the methodology. The 60 project target could attract $110 billion in public and private investment by 2030, he said, citing research commissioned by the foundation. The early retirement of SLTEC is backed by Philippine energy firm ACEN ( opens new tab together with Singapore clean investment group GenZero, the infrastructure conglomerate Keppel ( opens new tab, Japan's Mitsubishi (8058.T), opens new tab and its subsidiary Diamond Generating Asia. Revenue from carbon credits will be used to cover foregone cashflows brought about by the closure, help pay for the energy storage needed to support renewables and protect the interests of local workers and communities, said Eric Francia, ACEN's chief executive. CCCI went through seven rounds of consultations on its methodology, partly to allay concerns of environmental groups, who say carbon finance should not be used to bail out coal asset owners. "The risk with this is how do you determine you are not giving finance to something that was a stranded asset, that wasn't going to be viable in the future?" said Jonathan Crook of Carbon Market Watch, a research group. The CCCI initiative's criteria will only select projects that are profitable and owned by companies or countries that have made firm "no new coal" commitments, said Curtin. While there is a moratorium on new coal plants in the Philippines, new facilities approved before the ban are still expected to come on line in the next few years. But the early retirement of SLTEC would still deliver progress on the energy transition, ACEN's Francia said. "Of course we need to manage the perception, which is admittedly not good, but we look at the substance, and that is really the equation here," he said.
