- ENGIE Energy Access will be able to fund significant solar off-grid deployments in underserved regions throughout the globe.
- The cooperation was established to support the Voluntary Carbon Markets in Africa to increase access to energy financing and promote sustainable development.
The ENGIE Group’s energy management and sales division, ENGIE Global Energy Management & Sales (GEMS), and CarbonClear, a data-driven and innovative carbon offset certification company, have joined forces in a ground-breaking agreement to accelerate the use of climate finance by the off-grid sector in sub-Saharan Africa through the issuance and sale of data-driven and impactful carbon credits. ENGIE Energy Access is one of the top off-grid providers in Africa. According to the terms of the agreement, CarbonClear will use its cutting-edge, entirely digital technology to validate the carbon offset produced by the solar kits that ENGIE Energy Access supplied to rural and off-grid populations in sub-Saharan Africa.
According to ENGIE Energy Access’s Head of Finance, Steven Fleurus, “Carbon credits are a key tool to maximize the affordability of our goods. We are therefore thrilled that our collaboration with CarbonClear will allow us to raise more money for the environment and spur our growth. This prompt action attends to an urgent situation. The number of people living without electricity is increasing, affecting 600 million people in Africa alone, as a result of the Covid problem and demographic change. So, according to the Global Energy Forecast, an additional 26 billion dollars are needed annually to achieve SDG 7.
The Voluntary Carbon Market could and should play a significant role in resolving this issue, as underlined by the recently launched Africa Carbon Market Initiative (ACMI) during COP27. It expands on the finding that because of poor validation and certification procedures and especially lengthy lead times, access to energy companies face substantial challenges when trying to secure finance from the VCM.