The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) announced new initiatives and funding commitments at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to help reduce global emissions and to foster climate resilience and enhance countries’ ability to adapt to climate impacts.
USTDA also announced that its Global Partnership for Climate-Smart Infrastructure, which President Biden launched in April 2021 to connect U.S. industry to major clean energy and transportation infrastructure projects in emerging economies, has now grown to more than 80 activities that are designed to help unlock more than $70 billion in climate finance and support more than $18 billion in U.S. exports. Earlier this year, USTDA announced that it had met and exceeded the Partnership’s three-year programming target within two years.
USTDA’s COP28 announcements include new efforts designed to:
MOBILIZE CLIMATE FINANCE
Institutional Investment for Emerging Economies: USTDA and the Investor Leadership Network (ILN) intend to sign a Strategic Partnership Agreement aimed at mobilizing climate finance from ILN’s global coalition of institutional investors, which manage over $10 trillion in assets. Under the Strategic Partnership, USTDA will support project preparation assistance in emerging economies for priority clean energy and critical minerals projects that are designed to catalyze institutional investment for climate-aligned financing. USTDA and ILN will coordinate their support for these projects through a dedicated Project Preparation Window.
Sub-Saharan Africa: USTDA will partner with the African Development Bank on a Green and Sustainable Financing Workshop that will take place in March 2024, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The workshop will convene U.S. technical experts and key regional financial institutions to share insights on how to successfully source investment towards sustainable infrastructure projects. Discussions will also examine the enabling environment for green and sustainable financing across the African continent.
REDUCE METHANE EMISSIONS
Egypt: USTDA approved grant funding for technical assistance to support efforts by the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) to reduce methane emissions in Egypt’s oil and gas industry. This assistance will advance Egypt’s efforts to meet its Global Methane Pledge goals by identifying major sources of methane emissions and developing a roadmap for reductions across the sector. EGPC selected Colorado-based IHS Global Inc., a subsidiary of S&P Global Inc., to carry out the assistance.
Nigeria and Central Asia: USTDA will fund reverse trade missions to the United States for oil and gas industry leaders from Nigeria and Central Asia to observe U.S. methane abatement solutions in action, while building related partnerships with U.S. financiers, suppliers, and regulatory and policy experts. These reverse trade missions will follow similar programming from 2023 for delegations from Latin America and North Africa.
EXPAND RENEWABLE ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE
Zambia: A USTDA feasibility study grant to REV-Up Solar Ventures Zambia Ltd. Will support the development of an estimated 200-megawatt solar power plant and associated battery energy storage system (BESS) to supply clean, reliable energy to Zambia. The project, located in the Mulonga region, also offers the potential to power two critical mineral mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This is USTDA’s second major solar-plus-storage project in Zambia this year, complementing a grant awarded in March to Zambia’s GreenCo Power Storage Limited to fund a feasibility study and pilot project for a utility-scale BESS project in Zambia’s Sesheke District. Both projects position Zambia to play a key role in renewable energy trading across southern Africa.
ADVANCE A JUST ENERGY TRANSITION
South Africa: USTDA is funding a series of four clean energy and climate infrastructure events to promote cooperation between the U.S. and South African public and private sectors on clean energy development. Events in 2024 will include an electricity transmission workshop in South Africa and two reverse trade missions that will bring South African energy sector leaders to the United States to learn about green hydrogen and municipal energy solutions.
These activities continue USTDA’s support for the Just Energy Transition Partnership with South Africa, which also includes a 2023 technical assistance grant to South Africa’s state-owned electric utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. to increase the transmission grid’s capacity to absorb new, renewable sources of energy generation and reduce the frequency of power cuts across the country.
USTDA’s programming advances U.S. priorities that include the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI) to deliver game-changing projects to close the infrastructure gap in developing countries, the President’s Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE) to deploy infrastructure that supports partner countries’ adaptation needs, and the Global Methane Pledge for a 30 percent reduction of global methane emissions by 2030.
For more information on USTDA’s climate portfolio, please visit USTDA’s Global Climate Partnership webpage.
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The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority infrastructure projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries.
MEDIA INQUIRIES: Paul Marin | (703) 875-4357