11-03-2008 13:53
The SEF Alliance - an international coalition of public funds dedicated to building clean energy markets
A new, member-driven platform has been created under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to improve the effectiveness of public and publicly backed funding entities to finance and transform clean energy markets.
What does that mean?
Public finance mechanisms for sustainable energy are publicly backed interventions - both financial and non-financial - that help close financing gaps, leverage private investment, overcome market barriers, and accelerate market uptake of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures.
"This platform fills a conspicuous gap in the international structures that are needed to help governments finance the growth of these markets," says Jamie Brown, head of the SEF Alliance Secretariat. "Through the Alliance, members are able to engage with their international peers, pool resources to improve cost effectiveness, launch joint projects, exchange best practices, and assist other governments in establishing new or similar financing models."
The 2008 founding members of the SEF Alliance are:
These organisations have chosen to pursue a number of projects jointly through this platform in 2008. This work includes a series of studies looking at which financing mechanisms are most appropriate for the various stages of sustainable energy project and technology development, beginning with a case study on venture capital instruments and another on guarantee instruments. The members have also commissioned research that looks at how to best assess the impact of financing programmes, particularly focusing on measures of market transformation.
On an ongoing basis, staff at the Secretariat -- which is hosted at BASE (the Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy) -- work to identify additional agencies around the world who are working in this area. Partnership development is supported by continual outreach to new prospective members, as well as facilitating interaction between member agencies and mainstream financial market players.
More information is available from www.sefalliance.org.
SEF Alliance Partners:
UNEP - United Nations Environment Program - www.unep.org
BASE - Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy - www.energy-base.org
SEFI - Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative - www.sefi.unep.org
OAK - The Oak Foundation - www.oakfnd.org
CEG - Clean Energy Group - www.cleanenergygroup.org
Find funds?:
SEFD - Sustainable Energy Finance Directory http://www.sef-directory.net
By: www.energy-base.org
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