India, China to lead global energy transition post-US exit: UN Energy official

There is no looking back from the climate and energy transition goals, and in the current volatile times, the need for multilateral organizations such as the UN and agencies including UN Energy has increased significantly, Damilola Ogunbiyi, chief executive and special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and co-chair of UN-Energy, said in an interview.

She emphasized that developing countries would continue to pursue their energy transition pathways and, working with multilateral agencies, including the Gurugram-based International Solar Alliance (ISA), would help ensure energy access and support the energy transition in least developed countries (LDCs)

Last week, the US announced its withdrawal from 66 multilateral organizations including UN Energy, International Solar Alliance, UN Framework for Convention of Climate Change, International Renewable Energy Agency, Global Counterterrorism Forum, Global Forum on Cyber Expertise, Global Forum on Migration and Development, Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals, and Sustainable Development, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and UN Conference on Trade and Development, terming them as "wasteful, ineffective, and harmful".

"I think because we all see what's happening in the world, is the reason why we have more multilateralism in the first place. I think what we're seeing now is even more of a reason why you need a UN system. You need countries to talk to each other, and you need countries to come together at a time where it's so critical and what people want to divide us. So for me, you know, the principles of the UN are actually more relevant now than even when the UN was set up," she said.

"We cannot crack because of one member state, regardless of how big they are and regardless of all the resources that they uphold," she added.

On whether the exit of the US from bodies such as UN Energy and ISA would impact their operations and targets, Ogunbiyi, also the CEO of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) said: "So for now, has it had an effect? Of course, it has an effect. We come together and we find a solution out of it. That's what makes us the UN you know, we were born in a time after a war. So we're used to crisis, and we thrive in crisis, you know, like I said, I'm really proud of how we've handled things, and I'm really proud of what you're going to see from the UN system, which focuses on the commonwealth."

The global climate change and energy transition roadmap has slowed, hurt by financing shortfalls from developed countries and multilateral development banks (MDBs), as well as several nations returning to fossil fuels amid a post-Covid-19 surge in energy demand. Further, the withdrawal of the US, the world's largest economy, from climate commitments including the Paris Agreement may delay the targets further.

Experts have acknowledged that the ambitious target under the Paris Agreement (2015) to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to cap it at 1.5°C this century, is unlikely to be met.

2026 would mark the 11-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement. In an interview with Mint last year, John McCalla-Leacy, the head of global environmental, social, and governance (ESG) at KPMG International had said that although climate action has gained momentum, the world is witnessing a disorderly energy transition, with countries pursuing different paths and trajectories, and the the target to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100 may not be met.

Lack of financing remains a key obstacle to global energy transition and climate goals.

The US withdrawal from key climate forums and commitments gains significance as the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, concluded on 24 November 2024 with an agreement calling on developed countries to provide at least $300 billion annually to developing nations by 2035, to sharply cut greenhouse gas emissions and protect lives and livelihoods from the worsening impacts of climate change.

A report by Oxfam and CARE Climate Justice Centre released in October last year said that least developed countries got only 19.5%, and small island developing states 2.9% of total public climate finance over 2021-2022 and half of that was in the form of loans they have to repay. 

Ogunbiyi acknowledged the lag in financing in least developed countries and said: "The issue that we have is...there is not enough money going into it (energy). I think Africa is responsible for 4% of what was spent globally on renewables. It's not enough money, you know. And so our job is to say, how do we do more innovation in finance... Technology has a lot of innovative solutions. We have enough technology now to make sure everybody has access to energy. What we don't have is enough innovation in financing tools."

She added that UN Energy is working with the International Solar Alliance, Africa 50 and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority to try and raise money more locally. Pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and local investors in Africa are some of the potential investors UN Energy is looking to tap, Ogunbiyi said.

Outlining efforts of UN Energy in terms of raising capital for energy access and transition, she said that the agency is supporting some major programs, including Mission 300, which is backed by the World Bank and African Development Bank (ADB) to connect 300 million Africans to energy by 2030. Both World Bank and ADB would together provide about $40 billion of concessional financing that the African countries can use with government financing and blended financing.

"And there's a lot of money in sovereign wealth funds. There's a lot of money in pension funds that can invest in clean energy. And ISA is also coming in for a junior capital stack. We want to encourage this," she said while adding that experience of providing access to energy and mass-scale renewable energy installation in India can be replicated in other countries.

Stressing that China and India are set to lead the global energy transition roadmap, the Special Representative of the US Secretary General said: "And then, you know, Indonesia is doing some stuff, so is Vietnam, but the scale and the expertise and you have to also understand the Indian experience, the Indian government, Indian people are also very familiar to Africa, and you need that when you're implementing projects."

To be sure, India's non-fossil power generation capacity rose 22.6% (49.12GW) to 266.78GW in 2025 from 217.62GW in 2024. It includes 38.8% year-on-year growth in solar power capacity at 135.81 GW and 13.2% growth in wind power capacity at 54.51GW. By 2030, India aims to achieve 500GW of non-fossil capacity.