Climate Compatible Growth programme receives £57m funding boost from UK Government
The Climate Compatible Growth (CCG) programme has received £57m of additional funding for its research into sustainable energy and transport systems in the Global South. The programme is funded by the UK's Foreign Development and Commonwealth Office and led by Loughborough University’s Sustainable Transitions: Energy, Environment and Resilience Centre (STEER), with research hubs in partner institutions across the UK.
At the University of Oxford, CCG research is led from the Smith School while the research team includes academics from the Environmental Change Institute, Transport Studies unit and Department of Engineering.
Recent research from CCG’s Oxford hub includes Smith School reports on mobilising investment to support climate compatible growth in Zambia, and the challenges facing developer’s in the Global South’s renewables sector.
Dr Alex Money, Investment Pipeline Lead at CCG and Programme Director at the Smith School, commented:
The Climate Compatible Programme has been crucial in allowing us to do work in partnership with Global South research institutions and Governments. Our recent work on impact investment and the Constituency Development Fund in Zambia is guided by requests from Zambian policymakers, and we look forward to continuing to contribute demand-led, practical research over the extended course of the project.
Sam Fankhauser, Professor of Climate Economics and Policy at the Smith School, added:
Climate Compatible Growth is an important programme and it is great seeing the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office supporting it for a further five years. We urgently need a better understanding of how to fight climate change, which affects low income countries disproportionately, in a way that supports the development needs of the Global South.
At the Environmental Change Institute, CCG research is focused on the resilience of energy and transport infrastructure to climate-related threats, while the Transport Studies Unit is leading work on developing pathways to transport electrification in Kenya, Laos, Pakistan and Ethiopia – the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s priority countries.
Jim Hall, Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks, Environmental Change Institute, said:
The announcement of funding from FCDO through to 2030 is fantastic news, providing us with the opportunity to strengthen our partnerships around the world, and strengthen the analytical capabilities that are needed to drive forwards the transition to resilient and low-carbon energy and transport systems.
The UK Government described the funding as a way to “accelerate the roll-out of improved, climate resilient infrastructure in developing countries. It will provide even more countries across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia with the UK expertise needed to support improved, climate resilient infrastructure.”
Professor Mark Howells, Director of CCG commented: Together our work not only supports governments in transforming data into impactful infrastructure deals but also helps them to unlock significant market opportunities from within their countries, mobilising billions in finance to accelerate inclusive economic growth out of poverty.