COP27: UK announces further funding for clean energy innovation

The UK has announced an additional GBP65.5 million ($74.4 million) in grant funding for the for the Clean Energy Innovation Facility, the UK government said in a statement late Nov. 6 at the launch of the UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The fund, led by the government's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, provides grants to researchers and scientists in developing countries to accelerate clean technology, it said.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed renewable energy carbon avoidance credits at $3.95/mt CO2 equivalent Nov. 4, down from a peak of over $7/mt at the start of the year.

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In addition, the UK and Kenya are to partner on clean energy initiatives including:

• a public-private partnership worth $3 billion to invest in the 1-GW Grand High Falls hydropower dam;
• a $60 million investment to double the size of the 40-MW Malindi solar plant, and add battery storage;
• a new 35-MW geothermal power plant backed by a $100 million investment;
• the East Africa Credit Enhancement Company, which will use $15 million of seed funding from the UK government and local investors to mobilize $100 million of private sector finance for infrastructure projects over three years.

The UK said it would focus in particular on partnerships with the private sector to facilitate clean energy investment.

In addition, the country said it was to triple funding for climate adaptation – a major focus of COP27 -- to GBP1.5 billion by 2025 from GBP500 million in 2019. The funding is part of the UK's GBP11.9 billion budget for international climate finance.