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Ensuring access to sustainable energy is equally relevant for both sustainable development and climate change mitigation. Mobilising private finance in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries will, in turn, be of crucial importance for achieving both Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 – which calls for universal energy access – and climate change mitigation goals defined under the Paris Agreement. In this paper, we assess how UNFCCC-backed climate finance instruments have engaged private investment for energy-focused climate mitigation in SSA. Based on this assessment, we develop recommendations for public climate finance institutions. Our work builds on documentary and database analysis and interviews, as well as participatory methodologies applied at a stakeholder workshop conducted in Kampala, Uganda, in 2018. Three case studies from Ethiopia, Madagascar and South Africa illustrate how climate finance interacts with domestic policy instruments, including in relation to the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism, South Africa's domestic renewable energy auctions, and the Green Climate Fund. The paper finds that there is no 'catch all' success model and approaches need to be tailored to local circumstances. Key policy insights International market mechanisms and climate finance can be key catalysts for private multibillion-dollar investment in energy access and climate mitigation, even under the challenging conditions facing many SSA nations. Market mechanisms need to be managed well to provide the private sector with the certainty needed to commit to fresh investments. A programmatic approach with standardised baseline and monitoring methodologies should be anchored in the next generation of project-based market mechanisms under Paris Agreement Article 6. Linking international and regional development programmes with the international carbon market might be an option for closing financing gaps, while at the same time increasing synergies between climate goals and SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As of today, access to electricity is still unavailable to 1.1 billion people in the world, half of which live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Projections suggest that this share will increase, leaving millions of people with limited development prospects. Kenya's nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the 2015 Paris Agreement includes a commitment to expand power supply, and in doing so, provide all its citizens with access to electricity. Access in rural areas, where the majority remains unconnected, is planned to be reached through different technologies. These include mini-grids, which are expected to bring multiple sustainable development benefits. However, comprehensive studies looking at synergies and trade-offs between environmental, social, and economic impacts of mini-grids are scarce. Analyzing the expected contribution of mini-grids to targets such as the NDC and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can provide evidence-based decision-support to policymakers, thus promoting well-designed and sustainable rural electrification policies. By using the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT) Sustainable Development Methodology, this paper goes beyond the calculation of greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts resulting from access to modern electricity, analyzing also other environmental and socio-economic implications of 146 solar PV mini grids under construction in Kenya. Using specific targets from the SDG framework, the paper presents a combined qualitative and quantitative analysis of the extent to which mini-grids can contribute to the implementation of Kenya's NDC and to sustainable development priorities. Key policy insights The deployment of mini-grids is expected to lower the GHG emissions of the villages currently without access to electricity by 71%. This contributes to 0.4% of the current NDC target for the power sector, in line with the capacity of the systems analyzed. This action is expected to also bring about positive impacts on electricity access, indoor air quality, healthcare, education and economic activities, which are found to contribute to 16 SDG targets. Apart from the economic investment required, possible negative impacts are associated with the electronic waste generated at the end-of-life of the mini-grids. Accounting for sustainable development impacts of policies can increase support among policymakers for climate action, and ultimately raise ambition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]