Scaling up renewables in landlocked developing countries

UN-OHRLLS OfficeoftheHighRepresentativefortheLeastDevelopedCountries,LandlockedDevelopingCountriesandSmallIslandDevelopingStates SCALINGUP RENEWABLESINLANDLOCKED DEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES ©IRENA2022 Unlessotherwisestated,materialinthispublicationmaybefreelyused,shared,copied,reproduced,printedand/orstored,providedthatappropriateacknowledgementisgivenofIRENAasthesourceandcopyrightholder.Materialinthispublicationthatisattributedtothirdpartiesmaybesubjecttoseparatetermsofuseandrestrictions,andappropriatepermissionsfromthesethirdpartiesmayneedtobesecuredbeforeanyuseofsuchmaterial. ISBN:978-92-9260-463-9 Citation:IRENA(2022),ScalinguprenewablesinLandlockeddevelopingcountries,AbuDhabi:InternationalRenewableEnergyAgency. Availablefordownload:www.irena.org/publications Forfurtherinformationortoprovidefeedback:info@irena.org ABOUTIRENA TheInternationalRenewableEnergyAgency(IRENA)servesastheprincipalplatformforinternationalco-operation,acentreofexcellence,arepositoryofpolicy,technology,resourceandfinancialknowledge,andadriverofactiononthegroundtoadvancethetransformationoftheglobalenergysystem.Aglobalintergovernmentalorganisationestablishedin2011,IRENApromotesthewidespreadadoptionandsustainableuseofallformsofrenewableenergy,includingbioenergy,geothermal,hydropower,ocean,solarandwindenergy,inthepursuitofsustainabledevelopment,energyaccess,energysecurity,andlow-carboneconomicgrowthandprosperity. www.irena.org ABOUTUN-OHRLLS TheOfficeoftheHighRepresentativefortheLeastDevelopedCountries,LandlockedDevelopingCountriesandSmallIslandDevelopingStates(UN-OHRLLS)servesthe91vulnerablememberstatesthatareLDCs,LLDCsandSIDS,andisresponsibleforadvocating,supporting,mobilising,co-ordinatingandreportingontheimplementationofprogrammesofactionandtheachievementoftheSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs).SinceUN-OHRLLSwasestablished,ithasbeenworkingthroughadedicatedunittoadvocateforLLDCs;tomobiliseandco-ordinatetheUNsystemandotherstakeholderstowardssupportingLLDCs;tomonitorimplementationoftheProgrammeofAction(PoA)fortheLLDCsatthecountry,regionalandgloballevels;toprovideintergovernmentalsupporttotheLLDCs;andtobuildeffectivelinkagesbetweenthePoAforLLDCsandthoseofthe2030AgendaforSustainableDevelopment. www.un.org/ohrlls CONTRIBUTINGAUTHORS ThereportwasauthoredbyElizabethNjokiWanjiru,HyunKoandSofjaGiljovaundertheguidanceofBinuParthanandGurbuzGonul(Director,IRENACountryEngagementsandPartnerships).GladysMutangaduraandArslanMushtaqChaudhary(UN-OHRLLS)werealsocontributingauthorsofthereport. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS DifferentsectionsbenefitedfromtheinputsandreviewsofAdelineDuclos,ArinaAnisi,ArvydasLebedys,DanielRusso,DvyamNagpal,DennisAkande,FaranRana,FranciscoBoshell,MichaelRenner,JobMutyabaandPrasoonAgrawal(IRENA),PaulKomor(Consultant),AniketGhai,ShifaanaThowfeequ,NnanaPheto,NathalieRisse,SelinAkerandTaoQi(UN-OHRLLS).ThereportwaseditedbyJustinFrench-Brooks. UN-OHRLLS OfficeoftheHighRepresentativefortheLeastDevelopedCountries,LandlockedDevelopingCountriesandSmallIslandDevelopingStates SCALINGUP RENEWABLESINLANDLOCKED DEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES FOREWORD SCALINGUPRENEWABLESINLANDLOCKEDDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES(LLDCS) TheInternationalRenewableEnergyAgency(IRENA)andtheUNOfficeoftheHighRepresentativefortheLeastDevelopedCountries,LandlockedDevelopingCountriesandSmallIslandDevelopingStates(UN-OHRLLS)arepleasedtosharethisreportonscalinguprenewableenergyinlandlockeddevelopingcountries(LLDCs). LLDCsconstitute32oftheworld’smostvulnerablenationsandarehometo533millionpeople,accountingfor7%oftheworld’stotalpopulation.LLDCsfacemulti-faceteddevelopmentchallengesemanatingfromtheirgeographicallocations,whichlimittheiraccesstointernationalmarketsandintensifytheirsusceptibilitytoclimatechangeandtheimpactsofexternalshockssuchastheCOVID-19pandemic.ThesefactorsexacerbatetheobstaclesLLDCsfaceinachievingtheSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs). Whilenotableprogresshasbeenmadetowardsaccesstoreliable,sustainable,modernandreasonablypricedenergyinrecentyears,215millionpeopleinLLDCsstilllivewithoutreliableenergy.Accesstoenergyisanessentialenablerforeconomicactivities–suchasagriculture,commerceandindustry–thatarevitalforgrowthinLLDCs.Furthermore,scaling-uprenewableenergyinthesecountriesiskeytobuildingresilienceandaddressingtheimpactsofclimatechange. TheViennaProgrammeofAction(VPoA)fortheperiod2014-2024highlightsenergyamongitspriorities,andinvestmentandpowerinfrastructureupgradescomprisethefoundationforLLDCstostructurallyremodeltheireconomies,increaseaccesstoaffordablecleanenergy,andboosttheirtradepotential. Therefore,theenergytransitionisatoppriorityforallLLDCs,whichmustleveragetheirexistingdomesticbioenergy,solar,hydropower,windandgeothermalresources.Thedropincostsforrenewableenergy,coupledwithrapidtechnologicalinnovation,provideanexcellentopportunitytodeployrenewableenergyinthesecountries. Thisreportprovidesanoverviewofemergingtrends,challengesanddriversfortheenergytransitioninLLDCsandoutlinespossibleactionstoadvancerenewableenergytosupportthedeliveryoftheSDGs.Thereporthighlightsenablingframeworkoptionsth