Thank you Mr. President and thanks to the Administrator and to panelist for sharing their impressive experiences, to which I would like to add the Italian Mission’s view on what we have been trying to figure out with UNDP.
We therefore fully support integrated approaches in dealing with just energy transitions and recognize the important role of contribution played by UNDP in this sphere. I am therefore pleased in this regard to present to the Board the latest initiatives promoted by Italy in partnership with UNDP in this sector, addressing specifically elements under discussion today and with special focus on Africa.
Energy is a key component of Italy’s “Mattei Plan for Africa” , through which we are scaling up transformative initiatives to unlock the energy transition in Africa, in total synergy with national priorities of African Countries, scaling public-private partnership and blending multilateral, bilateral, public and private resources.
This year, Italy placed sustainable energy at the top of the G7 Agenda. At the Apulia Summit, G7 Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Africa’s clean energy transition and, as promoted by the Italian Presidency, launched the “Energy for Growth in Africa Initiative” together with 7 African countries, to drive clean energy investments across the continent as one of the flagships initiatives of the G7.
As announced by the Leaders, we are proud to confirm that the initiative will be implemented by the UNDP, building on a successful pilot established by the Italian Government and UNDP already in 2022.
The initiative currently supports over 40 projects in clean energy, providing funding assistance and technical support, with plans to intensify efforts in existing countries and expand to new ones.
A central focus of the initiative is on providing risk mitigation instruments, especially against currency devaluation and off-taker risk, to facilitate the inflow of foreign investments, including a specialized facility for foreign exchange risk mitigation.
We are working to accelerate this initiative with G7 and African partners as well as with UNDP and other relevant organizations, to ensure its effectiveness and lasting impact to accelerate sustainable energy for development.
To deliver on this initiative Italy aims to further strengthen its strategic collaboration with UNDP, including through the further development of the UNDP Rome Centre as the principle platform to deliver on commitments on energy, climate and sustainable finance.
We welcome your inputs of course on this initiative and invite others to joint this endeavor.
You can continue to count on Italy.
