Global Citizen NOW: Johannesburg Concludes with 26.8 GW Renewable Energy Pledge for Africa

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Global Citizen, the world’s leading movement to end extreme poverty, successfully concluded the inaugural African edition of its action summit, Global Citizen NOW: Johannesburg. This pivotal event marked the culmination of the year-long "Scaling Up Renewables in Africa" campaign, generating significant new commitments from governments, private sector investors, and development institutions aimed at accelerating Africa's clean energy transition.

The summit's conclusion saw the announcement of projects set to deliver 26.8 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy and expand electricity access to power over 17.5 million homes across the continent by 2030. These commitments contribute substantially to the campaign's goal of quadrupling Africa’s renewable energy capacity within the decade.

Significant Financial and Capacity Pledges

The "Scaling Up Renewables in Africa" campaign, co-chaired by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, with support from the International Energy Agency (IEA), secured major financial and capacity commitments:

• Team Europe announced a landmark commitment of €13 billion in grants, loans, guarantees, and equity, coupled with an anticipated €2.1 billion in private sector leverage. This collective effort, involving the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and several member states, represents one of the most substantial coordinated initiatives to support Africa's clean energy future.

  • President von der Leyen stated, "With €15.5 billion, we are turbocharging Africa's clean-energy transition. Millions more people could gain access to electricity... A future led by Africa, with strong support from its friend and partner, Europe."

• The African Development Bank (AfDB) pledged to allocate at least 20 percent of its African Development Fund 17th replenishment resources to renewable energy.

• Norway committed NOK 3.1 billion, with approximately $61 million earmarked for renewable energy projects.

Private Sector Investments Drive Scale

The summit galvanized bold announcements from the private sector, demonstrating confidence in Africa’s renewable energy market:

Entity	Commitment Focus	Capacity/Investment Target
Harith General Partners	Scale up energy investment in Africa	From $\text{1.5 GW}$ to $\text{5 GW}$ over five years ($\sim \text{830,000}$ homes)
Octopus Energy Generation	Renewables through Power Africa fund	Additional $\text{\$200 million}$ unlocked, total $\text{\$450 million}$ ($\sim \text{180 MW}$ for $\text{1.1}$ million people)
CrossBoundary Energy	Pipeline of renewable projects (solar, wind, battery)	$\text{\$200 million}$ secured towards $\text{\$1 billion}$ pipeline by 2030
ENERTRAG	Grid-secure renewable power in South Africa	$\text{1.2 GW}$ from 2026 ($\sim \text{800,000}$ homes)
Scatec	Global renewable energy expansion	Expand to $\text{10 GW}$ global capacity (already secured $\text{4.4 GW}$ new solar)
Sun King	Off-grid solar systems deployment	$\text{50}$ million new systems by 2030 ($\text{200}$ million people)

These new commitments build on earlier campaign pledges from Globeleq 1.3 GW of clean power), Energea $250 million investment), Pele Energy Group 10 GW capacity expansion), TransEnergy Global GW $ solar capacity), and Genesis Energy 10 GW deployment).

Addressing Africa's Energy Paradox

South African President H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa underscored the urgency of the campaign, noting, "Africa represents the ultimate energy paradox... Some 40 percent of Africa’s population has no access to electricity. The Scaling up Renewables in Africa initiative was born of the need to expand energy access across the continent."

The 26.8 GW pledged through the campaign is set to effectively double Africa's current renewable capacity. Hugh Evans, Co-Founder & CEO of Global Citizen, highlighted the campaign’s impact: "The 15.5 billion pledged advances Africa one-sixth of the way toward the investments needed to meet its energy and climate goals by 2030."

Global Health and Development Focus

In addition to climate action, Global Citizen NOW: Johannesburg featured champions for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Aligning with the Global Fund’s 8th replenishment, which mobilized $11.34}$ billion, speakers emphasized the organization’s pivotal role in global health, having saved 70}$ million lives since 2002.

The summit convened a distinguished roster of speakers, including H.E. Hakainde Hichilema, President of Zambia; Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Prime Minister of Ireland; and Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of Norway, alongside influential business and thought leaders.

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