Reducing the cost of capital to finance the energy transition in developing countries


Date

2024-10

Publication Type

Journal Article

ETH Bibliography

yes

Citations

Altmetric

Data

Abstract

Climate stabilization requires the mobilization of substantial investments in low- and zero-carbon technologies, especially in emerging and developing economies. However, access to stable and affordable finance varies dramatically across countries. Models used to evaluate the energy transition do not differentiate regional financing costs and therefore cannot study risk-sharing mechanisms for renewable electricity generation. In this study, we incorporated the empirically estimated cost of capital differentiated by country and technology into an ensemble of five climate-energy-economy models. We quantified the additional financing cost of decarbonization borne by developing regions and explored policies of risk premium convergence across countries. We found that alleviating financial constraints benefits both climate and equity as a result of more renewable and affordable energy in the developing world. This highlights the importance of fair finance for energy availability, affordability and sustainability, as well as the need to include financial considerations in model-based assessments.

Publication status

published

Editor

Book title

Journal / series

Volume

9

Pages / Article No.

1241 - 1251

Publisher

Nature

Event

Edition / version

Methods

Software

Geographic location

Date collected

Date created

Subject

Climate-change mitigation; energy access; finance; renewable energy

Organisational unit

09742 - Steffen, Bjarne (ehemalig) / Steffen, Bjarne (former) check_circle
09550 - Schmidt, Tobias / Schmidt, Tobias check_circle

Notes

Funding

101081604/22.00541 - NET ZERO PATHWAY RESEARCH THROUGH INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT MODEL ADVANCEMENTS (SBFI)
730403 - Innovation pathways, strategies and policies for the Low-Carbon Transition in Europe (SBFI)
870245 - Global Excellence in mOdeling Climate and Energy Policies (EC)
948220 - Effective green financial policies for the low-carbon transition (EC)

Related publications and datasets