UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions, Michael R. Bloomberg, has announced a $285 million commitment to help scale clean energy fast enough to meet the world’s growing energy demand. The new initiative marks the next phase of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ global energy programme, with a focus on accelerating the deployment of reliable, affordable, and secure clean energy worldwide. As industrial growth, artificial intelligence, electrification, and geopolitical instability reshape global energy markets, Bloomberg Philanthropies is expanding its efforts across emerging and developing economies. The initiative aims to strengthen national clean energy industries by enhancing their institutional capacity, technical expertise, market knowledge, and analytical capabilities. According to the organisation, these efforts will enable clean energy stakeholders to play a more influential role in energy planning, financing, and market decisions that have traditionally been dominated by incumbent energy interests. “Clean energy is now cheaper than fossil fuels in virtually every part of the world, and as a result, its share of global power production is growing,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies. “But fixable obstacles are still slowing down deployment—and with energy demand rising at an unprecedented pace, we can’t allow those obstacles to continue standing in the way of lower energy costs for households and businesses, and cleaner air and water for communities. This new investment will help ensure they don’t.” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the commitment, saying: “The clean energy age has arrived. As demand for power surges, it must now scale rapidly in the economies that need it most. Michael Bloomberg’s commitment does exactly that—backing the industries that will power homes, lower energy bills, strengthen economies, and improve air quality for billions of people. Together, let us bring the renewable energy revolution to every corner of the world.” Clean energy is now the most cost-effective source of new electricity generation in most parts of the world. In 2025, renewable energy accounted for 34% of global electricity generation, surpassing coal’s 33% share for the first time in approximately a century. By 2030, renewable energy and nuclear power are projected to generate half of the world’s electricity, underscoring the accelerating global transition towards cleaner energy sources. However, this progress is exposing a new challenge: ensuring that clean energy deployment keeps pace with soaring electricity demand. While clean energy technologies are scaling rapidly, the industries and institutions supporting them are still maturing. In many markets, the clean energy sector remains under-resourced compared with incumbent energy industries that have spent decades building political influence, technical expertise, financing networks, and institutional capacity. The question is no longer whether clean energy is economically viable. The question is whether the industries behind it can mature quickly enough to shape the future energy system. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ new commitment is designed to help close that gap by building on existing efforts in emerging and developing economies, where electricity demand is growing the fastest. Focused on countries responsible for nearly 70% of global power sector emissions, the initiative aims to help solar and wind generate more than half of their electricity by 2030 through:

• Strengthening clean energy industry associations and regional networks to enable them to participate more effectively in energy planning, financing, and market design.
• Supporting data collection, economic analysis, and technical research that demonstrate how clean energy can deliver reliable, affordable power at scale.
• Providing technical assistance to help governments and regulators create market conditions that accelerate clean energy investment and deployment.
• Partnering with financial institutions and investors to unlock greater private capital for clean energy infrastructure.

Barbara Buchner, CEO of Climate Policy Initiative, said: “Renewable energy is the world’s fastest-growing power source, but that growth is uneven. Markets with great potential are often the ones where the foundational prerequisites—such as strong policy frameworks, institutional capacity, industry coordination, and reliable data—are still being established. Directing resources towards closing those gaps is what turns potential into bankable opportunity, and that is what this commitment does.” Tetchi Capellan, Chairperson of the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association, said: “Across Asia, solar momentum remains strong because we have the natural resources, the ambition, and the technology to succeed. But turning that momentum into a lasting energy transition requires infrastructure the region is still building—from grid stability and energy storage integration to the removal of investment barriers. This investment gives industry associations the capacity and resources needed to meet those challenges head-on.” Sonia Dunlop, CEO of the Global Solar Council, said: “Competitive technology alone doesn’t build a new energy system. In market after market, we see the same story: the economics are there, the projects are ready, but what slows us down is the institutional and political representation gap. Renewable energy associations that can engage effectively in grid planning, market design, and finance are not a peripheral concern—they are what turn a country’s energy potential into actual power on the grid. That is what this investment recognises, and it is long overdue.” Patricia Espinosa, CEO and Founding Partner of onepoint5, and former Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, said:”The emerging economies driving global energy demand are also those with the greatest potential to power themselves with renewables. Many have set ambitious clean energy targets, and there is no single blueprint for how the transition should happen. It must be tailored to the realities of each country, its businesses, and its people. What they all share is the need for an effective enabling environment and the infrastructure required to translate those targets into large-scale deployment. That is the gap this commitment addresses, and that is why it matters.” Saliem Fakir, Executive Director of the African Climate Foundation, said:”Africa has abundant renewable energy resources and rapidly growing electricity demand. What has been missing is not the potential, but the institutional capacity and capabilities needed to unlock it: an ecosystem of stakeholders with the analytical expertise to engage in energy planning, the technical knowledge to work with regulators, and the credibility to mobilise private finance at scale. Philanthropic investment that directly addresses those gaps can fundamentally shift the trajectory of the continent’s energy system. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ commitment provides a real opportunity to reshape Africa’s energy future in a lasting way.” Mada Ayu Habsari, Chairperson of the Indonesian Solar Energy Association, said:”Indonesia has every reason to become a solar energy leader: a fast-growing economy, vast renewable resources, and an ambitious target to deliver 100GW of solar capacity, anchored by the immediate Quick Win 17GW programme. Realising that potential requires more than ambition. It demands industry associations with the standing to engage directly with government, a pragmatic approach to translating ambition into deployment, and an evidence-based regulatory framework that evolves alongside market growth. That is exactly what this investment makes possible.” Dave Jones, Co-founder of Ember, said:”Most of the world’s energy demand growth is occurring in emerging economies, and it is increasingly being met through electricity. Solar, paired with batteries and wind, is now the cheapest way to provide dispatchable, around-the-clock electricity in most countries. What continues to slow deployment are structural barriers, including the lack of high-quality data and analysis to inform policy decisions. This investment will provide industries, governments, and investors with the information, metrics, and forecasting they need to unlock the full potential of clean energy.” Dr Shezra Mansab Ali Khan Kharal, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Climate Change and Environment Coordination, said:”Across emerging economies, renewable energy is being held back not by economics but by market structures designed for a different era. Through this investment, Bloomberg Philanthropies is helping to close the gap between clean energy potential and practical implementation by tackling these systemic challenges head-on.” Rachel Kyte, UK Special Representative for Climate, said:”In too many markets, renewable energy industries are still playing catch-up against incumbent sectors that have spent decades shaping the rules governing energy markets. What this moment calls for is exactly what this investment delivers: the capacity, expertise, and institutional strength for clean energy industries to compete on their own terms. We know what works when those conditions are in place. The question is how we can help one another achieve that quickly enough.” Dr Rethabile Melamu, CEO of the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association, said: “In South Africa, eight of our 10 gigawatts of solar capacity have been installed in just the past three to four years. That pace of deployment leaves little time to build all the supporting infrastructure simultaneously. We’ve learned that the industry’s ability to contribute expertise to grid planning and regulatory processes is not a luxury—it is essential. Without it, projects are delayed, energy security is compromised, and economic growth is constrained. Strengthening that capacity, both in South Africa and across the continent, is exactly the kind of targeted intervention needed to move deployment from the starting line to scale.” Ali Mohamed, Special Envoy for Climate Change, Government of Kenya, said:”Across Africa, the potential for renewable energy is enormous. What has held back deployment is not a lack of ambition or natural resources. It is the gap between that potential and the capacity to translate it into investment, projects, and electricity on the grid. Long-term offtake agreements that de-risk investment, together with innovative financing solutions, can bridge that gap. That is precisely what developing economies need today, and it will determine whether the energy transition delivers for the people who need it most.” Subrahmanyam Pulipaka, CEO of the National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI), said:”The pace of India’s solar deployment is among the fastest in the world. As India enters the next phase of its energy transition, it is imperative to build on this strong foundation by accelerating grid integration, expanding energy storage, and unlocking next-generation market mechanisms. This investment provides support precisely where there is the greatest opportunity to accelerate progress.” Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, said:”Clean energy is no longer only a question of ambition. It is also a question of energy security and social fairness. The case for accelerating the transition has never been stronger. In Europe, we have seen what happens when strong institutions and robust legal frameworks are in place: deployment accelerates. Helping emerging economies build that same capacity is the most direct path to a cleaner, more affordable, and more secure global energy system.” Dr Rodrigo Sauaia, Co-founder and CEO of the Brazilian Solar Photovoltaic Energy Association (ABSOLAR) and Co-founder and Chair of the Global Solar Council (GSC), said: “Solar energy accounted for more than 75% of all new renewable generation capacity installed worldwide in 2025. It is the most affordable, widely accessible, and versatile clean energy technology available today. However, sustaining that momentum requires more than competitive costs. It requires strong solar and energy storage associations with the capacity to engage regulators, improve market design, and ensure policy frameworks keep pace with deployment. This investment is significant because it directly addresses those needs.” Suzanty Sitorus, Executive Director of ViriyaENB, said:”Indonesia’s energy choices today will shape not only its own future but also the trajectory of Southeast Asia’s energy transition. The President’s ambition to deploy 100 gigawatts of solar power reflects the scale of that opportunity. Realising it requires strong institutions, effective planning, and the capacity to deliver projects that provide affordable, reliable, and inclusive benefits to communities across the country. Support for these enabling conditions is often less visible than the construction of power plants, but it is what ultimately turns ambition into megawatts.” Prof. Yassierli, Minister of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia, said:”The true engine of the energy transition is people, which is why a successful transition must place human readiness at its core. President Prabowo Subianto has made human capital development and productivity central to Indonesia’s national transformation, taking concrete steps to build a future-ready workforce for the opportunities ahead. At the Ministry of Manpower, we are advancing this agenda by developing Indonesia’s Green Jobs Outlook, strengthening green competency standards, and modernising vocational training curricula with green skills. Indonesia’s energy transition must strengthen national resilience, create quality jobs, and drive shared prosperity. Above all, it must be a just transition, guided by the principle of leaving no one behind.” Today’s announcement builds on more than a decade of work by Mike Bloomberg to accelerate the global transition to cleaner energy systems. Bloomberg Philanthropies first supported the Beyond Coal campaign in the United States in 2011 before expanding its efforts internationally in 2017. Since then, Bloomberg Philanthropies-supported initiatives have helped drive the global shift from coal to clean energy, contributing to the cancellation of nearly 450 coal-fired power plants across four continents, including more than 60% of Europe’s planned coal plants. Together with partners worldwide, Bloomberg Philanthropies has also helped create the conditions for deploying more than 1,100GW of clean energy capacity—enough to power approximately 300 million homes. Building on more than a decade of climate and energy leadership, this new commitment aims to ensure that the countries driving future electricity demand have the institutional capacity, technical expertise, and investment needed to build cleaner, more affordable, and more secure energy systems.