What is Clean Energy Challenge?

The Clean Energy Challenge is a multi-stakeholder effort to address collectively energy challenges and help deliver a high-energy, low-carbon future for displaced populations by 2030.

Led by UNHCR and UNITAR as the Global Platform for Action (GPA) Secretariat, it aligns the humanitarian community with Climate Action and the UN’s efforts in Greening the Blue. More than 250 personnel have joined the challenge from various organizations including private companies, international/national NGOs, research institute, UN agencies, donor/philanthropic organizations, etc.

The Challenge is a platform to explore and show innovative approaches to transition from grant-based to sustainable market-based energy models, engaging the private sector to develop local market capacities. It creates a space for sharing data and best practices between the humanitarian, development and private sectors. It welcomes innovative energy solutions, advanced finance mechanisms and increased collaboration among stakeholders in the humanitarian energy community

Central to the Challenge is the commitment to support host governments’ own energy agendas, build on national capacities and ease the pressure on local communities.

Over the last one year, the Clean Energy Challenge Secretariate along with partners and host governments have organized several key events, such as Action Group meetings, Member States Briefing, and Marketplace meetings. 

Click here to read the activities and achievements of the CEC in 2020.

The Clean Energy Challenge contributes to the GPA by being a key campaign for meeting SDG7 in displacement contexts by 2030, co-led by UNHCR and UNITAR as the GPA Coordination Unit and contributing to the Global Platform for Action goals. Through the CEC, a wider network of private sector partners and governments is built to meet this challenge. Through partnership, the GPA and CEC are advocating to support energy programming in emergency and protracted situations along the following four outcome areas as laid out by the Clean Energy Challenge and UNHCR Global Strategy on Sustainable Energy:

To facilitate collective actions in bringing clean energy solutions to the most vulnerable and displaced population, the CEC secretariate organizes member states briefing to update ongoing activities and opportunities to both the refugee host governments and donor countries. It provides a common space to build partnerships, get information about policy actions, and increase awareness to progress with achieving SDG7.

The CEC Secretariat organizes Marketplace meetings to matchmake the demand of energy needs and emerging projects from implementing partners to the supply of resources existing in the action group (including funding/finance, technical expertise, project development expertise, in kind support, equipment/transport support, etc).

The Marketplace is a space to create partnerships among different stakeholders around shared value, ask for a variety of support and Develop and refine project ideas. However, the marketplace is not a direct procurement or tender portal (companies must go through the normal procurement process), neither a place to receive a direct energy grant.

The action group meetings are organized to discuss and share information about the solutions to energy challenges in displacement settings. It is also a platform to engage among various stakeholders in the humanitarian energy community, through which improved collaboration pathways are explored and discussed.

To be added soon.

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Last updated: 03/02/2022