Energy transitions forum commits to South-South cooperation

Country representatives from more than 30 Commonwealth countries – joining in person and virtually – met over four days, covering topics ranging from inclusive energy transitions amidst changing geopolitics and accelerating clean energy and clean cooking to promoting local value creation and decent jobs, artificial intelligence in energy transitions and access to finance for energy transitions, including sovereign wealth funds.

South-South cooperation refers to the concerted efforts to collaborate among developing nations across these areas to meet global goals, and promotes knowledge sharing and technology transfer. 

The forum was held under the Chatham House Rule which prohibits the direct attribution of sources.

The delegation from Ghana shared how they were making progress on the implementation of a carbon market under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and how they have managed to capitalise on opportunities with partners. They are currently running 12 projects, with eight million tonnes of carbon credits and 5,000 green jobs created as a result.  

The country is generating carbon credits from avoided emissions, which they can sell on the international market, with existing international buyers including Switzerland, Sweden and Singapore. They have benefited from learning from peers in Kenya and Senegal and proposed South-South cooperation within the Commonwealth to advance progress. This proposal was accepted by the Commonwealth Secretariat and will be developed by the Commonwealth Sustainable Energy Transitions Agenda team. 

Dan Dorner, Head of the Strategic Initiatives Office at the International Energy Agency, said on the sidelines of the forum that globally, large, long-term investment is needed, but geopolitical and economic uncertainty can cause hesitation when it comes to taking those actions. He added: 

“One of the most exciting aspects when it comes to the Commonwealth is the fact that it brings together such a large and diverse number of countries from around the world and can really share experience, knowledge and best practice to ensure that those leading in the transitions and learning from the transitions can then share with others and help them move more quickly to achieve the goals and aspirations that they want to.” 

Louise Hangero is a Senior Petroleum Inspector at the Namibian Ministry of Industries, Mining and Energy. On the second day, she chaired a session on clean energy and innovation. By having clean energy, a country can generate carbon credits. She said on the sidelines of the event: 

“If we wanted to add more renewables into our space, we would have to reconfigure our grid to be able to accommodate the energy from the renewables and, as it is, our energy access is not optimal. We need to deal with access before we can fully deal with an energy transition." 

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On the closing day, delegates talked about the complexities of and challenges with carbon pricing and carbon tax. There was also discussion on how they can disproportionately affect people on the lower income scales. Suggestions from the floor were around ensuring such taxes are comprehensive to avoid the “leaky bucket” problem where industries relocate to areas with less stringent carbon pricing and compensation to cushion the tax burden on low-income households.  

Further suggestions included ringfencing, exploring both benefits and challenges, recycling of carbon tax revenues, and promoting the sharing of experiences from how other countries in the Commonwealth are implementing their country-specific carbon-pricing models. 

The Commonwealth Secretariat will reconvene the CSET forum in 2027.  

From rhetoric to action: Commonwealth forum on energy transitions gets under way
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Media contact

• Suné Kitshoff   Senior Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat

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