Four major energy companies have come together to pledge $500 million of investment in providing affordable energy to underserved populations.
Especially given the macroeconomic shocks that recently sent energy prices surging, progress in providing reliable and affordable energy to the wider world have slowed down.
Indeed, in 2022, some 10 million more people in the world lacked access to electricity, making for a total of 685 million people. Moreover, about 2.1 billion people, mostly in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, have no access to facilities for clean cooking. This predominantly affects females, who are often charged with the task.
BP CEO Murray Auchincloss said that while it was still early, the hope was that:
“…by jointly investing, we will be able to contribute to wider efforts to tackle the very real challenge of access to energy. Over time, we believe it can help to create a more inclusive energy future for some of the many millions of people who lack that access today.”
Shell, TotalEnergies, Equinor and BP, the maker of the Castrol metalworking range, decided to come together and make the joint investment in an effort to address the issue of energy access. They have selected a multinational private equity firm with a history of making high-impact investments to manage the fund.
It is hoped that financing effective projects in the Global South will help underserved communities access cleaner cooking solutions and electricity. This can then potentially benefit these communities by facilitating better health outcomes and greater job creation.
