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Article

20 Jun 2016

Author:
Peyton Fleming, Ceres, in The Guardian (UK)

Commentary: Renewable energy investments in emerging markets from institutional investors & businesses required to meet climate goals

"Businesses have seen the light with solar energy and it's finally paying off," 17 jun 2016

A visit to a small hospital in northern Ghana changed Mahama Nyankamawu’s life forever. “…they had no electricity and the medicines…had all gone bad,” recalled the 40-year-old…The experience inspired Nyankamawu to create Volta, a company that builds solar power projects for health clinics, schools and farms across Ghana. Volta’s customers pay for 25% of the capital costs upfront, and the rest via monthly payments over two years. None of Nyankamawu’s customers have ever missed a payment...I often hear criticisms that businesses…aren’t doing their part…But that’s not what I have seen…I am impressed with entrepreneurs…and…business leaders who work on making renewable energy affordable and accessible…We saw a record $329bn in global clean energy investment last year, but that falls short of the estimated $1tn that will be needed…to…achieve the 2C goal…There is one group of investors who could help fill that gap, but they have yet to value renewable energy investments: institutional investors…These investors…remain on the sidelines in emerging markets, which they consider particularly risky…