– New Coalition launched by G20 will promote energy planning as a tool to accelerate clean energy investments in developing countries
ABU DHABI, UAE – The outgoing G20 president Brazil has invited IRENA to serve as the Secretariat of the Global Coalition on Energy Planning (GCEP). At a time when developing countries need to increase clean energy investments six-fold to meet global climate goals, Brazil’s minister of mines and energy, Alexandre Silveira De Oliveira, officially handed over the invitation to IRENA’s Director-General Francesco La Camera during the side event, ‘Global Coalition for Energy Planning – Shaping the Agenda for Action‘, today, ahead of the 15th IRENA Assembly.
The establishment of GCEP was announced by the G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, in October 2024. The initiative provides a platform for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and capacity building. GCEP aims to promote effective, inclusive and transparent energy planning as a tool to accelerate clean energy investments, especially in developing countries, and ensure a just and equitable transition for all.
Alexandre Silveira De Oliveira, minister of mines and energy of Brazil said:
“There are many pledges and commitments internationally about energy transition, but we need means to implement them. I’m confident that GCEP, with IRENA’s secretariat, can be one of the best tools to address it. Furthermore, President Lula da Silva has decided to restart the process of Brazil joining IRENA as member.”
IRENA’s director-general Francesco La Camera added:
“With its expertise in facilitating international collaboration on energy planning, IRENA is uniquely well-suited to host the Secretariat of the Global Coalition on Energy Planning and promote the exchange of knowledge and experiences on energy planning. I commend Brazil’s policies to promote renewable energy as the fuel of the future like green hydrogen and investment in transmission that could leverage up to USD 70 billion.”
Throughout its G20 Presidency, Brazil has championed energy planning as a strategic component of the global energy transition. Minister Silveira has consistently highlighted the benefits of robust and transparent energy plans during the 2024 G20 Energy Transition Working Group meetings.
Building on these meetings, today’s event discussed the principles of the Coalition, mechanisms for bridging planning and financing communities, and key topics for the Energy Planning Summit in June 2025 in Rio de Janeiro where the Coalition will be launched. The Summit represents an important milestone on the road to the UN Climate Change Conference COP30 in Brazil at the end of 2025.
In his invitation to IRENA, the Brazilian minister acknowledged the strong role that IRENA played during the discussions surrounding the launch of the Coalition. IRENA’s expertise in energy planning is well-established through its capacity-building programme for energy planners as well as its hosting of the Global Long-Term Energy Scenarios Network, a global platform for knowledge exchange on the use of long-term energy scenarios for planning.
Guiding principles of the Global Coalition on Energy Planning are:
1. Promoting transparent and effective energy planning
2. Facilitating knowledge exchange and capacity building
3. Catalysing investments by creating enabling environments
4. Encouraging national ownership of energy planning processes and inclusive participation.
5. Leveraging existing initiatives and partnerships
IRENA is committed to advancing GCEP’s goals. By fostering collaboration, strengthening capacity, and catalysing investments, GCEP will play an important role in accelerating the global energy transition and promoting sustainable development worldwide.
