European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol launched the Global Energy Transition Forum on Thursday during the Davos Summit in Switzerland.
The forum, which brings together international stakeholders from diverse regions, including Brazil, the UK, the UAE, Kenya, South Africa, and Canada, is designed to accelerate the global transition to clean energy.
President von der Leyen opened the event by outlining the forum's three primary objectives: maintaining momentum from the historic Global Energy agreement, transforming targets into tangible projects, and unlocking further investments to accelerate the transition.
She emphasized that only through measurable progress can the world achieve its energy goals.
In Europe, for example, renewable energy targets have been significantly raised, with the EU aiming for over 42% of its energy to come from renewables by 2030, up from 23% today, she added.
Von der Leyen highlighted that half of the EU's electricity is already sourced from renewable energy, but the region must continue pushing forward to meet its ambitious goals.
A key part of the forum's mission is to foster flagship initiatives, such as projects that provide clean energy to underserved communities or support the scaling of clean industries worldwide.
Investment remains a major challenge in speeding up the global energy transition. To address this, she emphasized the need for smarter financing solutions, including de-risking tools and blended finance to attract private capital.
She cited Africa as a promising region where investment in clean energy has already shown growth, with clean energy investments nearly doubling over the last two years.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol echoed von der Leyen's remarks, highlighting the disparity in clean energy investments between developed and developing countries.
While global clean energy investments have surged to $2 trillion, he pointed out that only 15% of this funding reaches regions with 60% of the world's population, such as Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia.
Africa, despite having 60% of the world's best solar resources, lags significantly in clean energy production.
Birol gave the example of Sub-Saharan Africa, where the total amount of solar energy generated is less than that produced in the Netherlands, despite Africa's vast solar potential. "Africa is the main challenge today," he said, stressing the urgent need for investments and projects that can unlock the region's vast clean energy potential.
He also noted that while global solar energy has become the cheapest source of electricity generation worldwide, the continent struggles to tap into this resource.
Birol called for targeted initiatives to close this financing gap and ensure that developing countries are not left behind in the global transition to renewable energy.