Energy majors such as TotalEnergies, BP, Equinor and Shell announced $500 million joint investment commitment in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 (UN SDG7).
UN SDG7 aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all in key regions.
In 2022, the number of people without access to electricity increased by around 10 million to 685 million. Additionally, approximately 2.1 billion people, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, lack access to clean cooking facilities.
BP, Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies will support projects primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, aiming to help people in underserved communities gain access to electricity and improved cooking conditions.
They will invest in a range of solutions, including solar home systems, mini/metro grids, clean cooking solutions, and enabling technologies such as e-mobility, energy storage and management solutions.
BP, Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies, have selected a global private equity firm with a strong track record in impact investing to manage the joint investment. Their expertise will support the investments being strategically directed to create both social impact and financial returns, while engaging with governments, international organizations, financial institutions, the private sector, civil society, and philanthropies.
Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, said: “At TotalEnergies, we are deeply committed to making energy accessible to all. Around a third of our development in electricity in the coming years will be in emerging countries, which will enable about 40 million people to benefit from access to electricity.”
TotalEnergies will also be investing $400 million in Liquefied Petroleum Gas facilities to develop clean cooking solutions in Africa and India, which will help 100 million people access healthier, more sustainable and more reliable energy.
Murray Auchincloss, CEO of BP, said: “It is early days, but we hope that by jointly investing, we will be able to contribute to wider efforts to tackle the very real challenge of access to energy.”
Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor, said: “This effort will help close some of the energy access gaps, which is a key part in reaching the global ambition of a just and equitable energy transition.”
Wael Sawan, CEO of Shell, said: “We want to support accelerated progress towards universal energy access as we believe it has the power to transform lives.”