Guterres urges 50% rise in global grid investment by 2030

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for global investment in electricity grids to rise by about 50 per cent by 2030, warning that ageing and inadequate networks are holding back renewable energy and leaving developing countries short of power.

Speaking at a COP31 event in Antalya, Türkiye, on Thursday, Guterres said about 3,000 gigawatts of advanced renewable-energy and battery projects were stuck in connection queues. He said building a transmission line could take up to 15 years, compared with a year for a solar farm.

The Global Grids Accelerator, launched by the UN in September, aims to bring governments, development banks and private finance together to plan and fund grid projects. Its initial focus is Africa and South-East Asia, which Guterres described as regions central to the world’s energy future.

He said more than 80 million kilometres of power lines would need to be built or upgraded by 2040, alongside improvements to storage, digital systems and cross-border connections. In Africa, he said, 600 million people still lacked access to electricity. South-East Asia, meanwhile, is expected to account for nearly a fifth of global economic growth over the next decade, and gets 60 per cent of its crude oil imports from the Middle East.

Guterres urged governments to make grids central to energy and development plans, update regulations and speed up priority projects. He also called on donors and development finance institutions to provide affordable long-term funding, guarantees and support to prepare projects for investment, and urged private companies to contribute capital, technology and expertise.