Recommendation 25

HM Government Accepted

Government Response: Agree 58. The FCDO agrees with this, and it is an area of work we already offer through our ICF Technical Assistance work. FCDO works closely with DESNZ and UK industry to incorporate lessons learnt from the UK’s own transition story. For example, our Green Cities, Infrastructure and Energy Programme (GCIEP) works with UK energy regulator Ofgem to deploy Technical Assistance in developing countries. FCDO also have significant support across our investment programmes and the grant programmes, and we have comprehensive activity to catalyse private sector investment, where there is a strong focus on technical assistance and policy, creating the right regulatory environment. 59. The Climate Compatible Growth (CCG) research programme works to ensure that community energy needs are factored into national energy planning and policy, by empowering local stakeholders with the tools and evidence needed, and through contribution to policy processes, for example the Decentralised Energy Planning Guidelines recently presented to Zambia’s Ministry of Energy. 60. UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions)’s energy programming has helped institutionalise county energy planning, influenced national clean cooking policy implementation, and built foundational tools for better Green House Gas accounting in the power sector. Government counterparts like the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and county governments have increased capacity to plan, model, and finance low-carbon energy systems. 61. We have also supported community-scale mini-grid policy and regulation work with the Governments of Sierra Leone and Mozambique. For instance, the Rural Electrification in Sierra Leone programme delivered solar and battery-based village mini-grid systems to remote rural communities in Sierra Leone alongside The Powering Sierra Leone’s Hospital’s programme, where FCDO has installed stand-alone solar systems in seven off-grid hospitals and 25 community health centres, replacing diesel generators, improving maternal and child health services, and supporting a maintenance regime with the Ministry of Health. BRILHO Mozambique has enabled clean energy access for over 3.1 million people, supported the distribution of over 375,200 Solar Household Systems, 252,200 improved cookstoves, and mobilised £41.7m in private investment, avoided 790,100 tonnes of CO2 emissions and created more than 2,400 jobs and provided technical support to the Government of Mozambique in drafting regulatory framework for off-grid areas. 62. The UK Government is exploring ways to enhance its climate, nature and energy expertise and advice to countries to develop policy, regulatory frameworks and viable, scalable models to improve energy access. This will build on the experience of successful programming to-date and improve the offer to countries, leveraging relevant UK expertise.