14-11-2017, 18:45 to 20:15, Bonn, Germany
The event at the Energies 2050 Pavilion, organised by REEEP and Nexus for Development, will share the lessons learned from the pilot phase of the Clean Energy Revolving Fund (CERF), a fund supported by the Government of Austria and the Blue Moon Fund, and discuss the potential to scale up finance for clean energy in agrifood value chains.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the agri-food sector of Cambodia struggle to compete in the region due to the high price of electricity, limited grid connectivity and a heavy reliance on fossil fuels to power their operations. Renewable energy technologies can provide resilient and CO2-neutral sources of power but often require significant up-front investment. The Clean Energy Revolving Fund (CERF) successfully provides affordable financing to SMEs to adopt clean energy technologies and engages with SMEs and technology providers to increase knowledge, skills, and understanding of renewable energy.
The CERF helps to bridge a financing gap for low-carbon development by providing flexible terms and charging low financing fees. Its dynamic structure allows the fund to learn, adapt, and respond quickly to agricultural market realities. Examples of investees so far include fruit, vegetable, spice and pig farms as well as water suppliers. Technologies financed can include solar PV, solar water pumping, solar drying, biomass gasification, and biogas.
The event will:
- Provide an overview of the challenges faced by Cambodia connected to mitigation and adaptation to climate change, in particular in its agri-food sector;
- Highlight the key factors contributing to the success of CERF in bridging the financing gap for clean energy adoption in emerging markets. The fund is currently focusing on Cambodia, but a number of the lessons learned and challenges faced are relevant for other sectors and countries too;
- Based on past experiences, discuss ideas for replication and scale up of the funding model: how to evolve from a donor funded model to a semi-private funded one? How to pave the way for local financial intermediaries to engage in this sector with appropriate solutions?
Speakers:
- Claire Dufour, Executive Director, Nexus for Development
- Martin Hiller, Director General, REEEP
- Stéphane Pouffary, General Director, ENERGIES 2050
- Lasse Ringius, Head of Green Investment Services, GGGI
