Held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly
Excellencies, colleagues,
Thank you for the invitation to join the launch of the Global Grids Accelerator.
We tend to think of the electricity revolution as something that happened a century ago. It did not. The real electricity revolution is happening now.
I want to make two points: one about why grids have become the central infrastructure challenge of our time, and one about what this Accelerator can do about it.
On grids. Global electricity demand is growing more than twice as fast as total energy demand. Electricity-related spending now accounts for nearly 60 per cent of all energy investment worldwide. By 2030, the world will add 1,100 terawatt-hours of new electricity demand every single year – the equivalent of adding Japan's entire electricity consumption, annually, for the rest of the decade.
The more sophisticated our economies become – the more they digitalize, electrify transport, deploy artificial intelligence – the more electrons they need for everything they do. How electrified a country is will matter more for its future than almost any other single variable.
And this is where the gap is widest. Grid investment in emerging economies outside China has declined by 7 per cent per year over the past five years – even as their electricity demand has surged. Over 2,500 gigawatts of renewable and storage projects sit stalled in grid connection queues worldwide. And 750 million people still have no access to electricity at all – 80 per cent of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
This brings me to my second point – what this Accelerator can do.
The challenge is to make more countries investable, and to translate investment needs into bankable projects. UN Trade and Development can contribute – through policy advisory work, technical assistance and engagement with investment promotion agencies and development finance institutions. An immediate opportunity is our World Investment Forum, co-hosted with Qatar in Doha from 25 to 27 October. It will bring together governments, sovereign wealth funds and global investors – including strong participation from Africa and ASEAN.
It can provide a platform to move the ambition forward: identifying where the grid investment gaps are, what is preventing capital from flowing and what partnerships can unlock it.
The Global Grids Accelerator can help turn a major infrastructure constraint into an investment and development opportunity.
UNCTAD stands ready to help make that happen.
I thank you.