EU launches sustainable energy scheme Funding is part of UN drive to help developing countries.

The European Commission today launched a €50 million funding programme to help developing countries improve access to sustainable sources of energy.

The ‘Energising Development’ scheme has the goal of providing access to sustainable energy for an additional 500 million people in developing countries by 2030. The funding is part of the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, which was launched last year. The EU funds will be topped up with private money.

The EU funding will only be available to countries who ‘opt in’ to the scheme by committing themselves to energy-market reforms by 2030. The UN initiative requires participating countries to have a free market for energy without monopolies. There is no specific list of what is required to achieve this, and the decision will be made by the UN.

The initiative was launched by José Manuel Barroso, the Commission president, at the Sustainable Energy for All summit in Brussels today. Speaking at the summit, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: “This initiative is not about charity, it is about doing the right things as a matter of global solidarity.”

Globally, one in five people do not have regular access to electricity. The commission has spent around €1 billion during the past five years on energy services in developing countries.

