High-level Roundtable on Investment in the Energy Transition

This high-level panel will discuss the role that international investment can play in supporting the energy transition. It is a key part of the climate change finance and investment track of the WIF, which will aim to generate insights, policy ideas and outcomes that can feed into discussions at COP28.

The focus of the session will be on international private sector investment in the energy sector. It will discuss the key challenges that developing countries face in financing large-scale renewables projects, promoting investments in energy infrastructure and energy efficiency, and coping with the longer-term scaling down of fossil fuel related investments. The discussion will aim to balance several key considerations: the need to invest in the energy transition, the need to provide long-term solutions to the current global energy crisis, and the need to pursue SDG7 on affordable and reliable access to energy for all.

The session will build on the findings and key messages of the World Investment Report 2023 on Investing in sustainable energy for all. It will aim to identify ways and means to overcome major roadblocks for private investment in climate change mitigation.

Session themes:

• What are the key challenges and trade-offs faced by project promoters, sponsors and financiers in the development of investment projects in renewables or other infrastructure needed to support the energy transition?
• What are the major disparities between developing- and developed-country energy markets and how do they affect their ability to attract private climate finance and investment?
• What can developing-country policymakers and the international community do to accelerate climate finance and investment?