GEEREF: a global risk capital fund to boost investment in
energy efficiency and renewables
The European Commission is setting up a global risk capital
fund to mobilise private investment in energy efficiency and
renewable energy projects in developing countries and economies
in transition. The Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Fund (GEEREF) will accelerate the transfer, development and
deployment of environmentally sound technologies and help to
bring secure energy supplies to people in poorer regions of
the world. These projects will also combat climate change and
air pollution.
The Commission proposed GEEEREF in October 2006 and intends
to kick-start the fund with a contribution of €80 million over
the next four years. Financing from other public and private
sources has already taken the initial funding to at least €100
million. These investments are expected to attract risk capital
of between €300 million and €1 billion for investment in projects
on the ground. GEEREF will prioritise small investments, below
€10 million, that are largely ignored by commercial investors
and international financial institutions.
GEEREF draws on the Patient Capital Initiative (PCI) launched
in 2004 in the context of the Johannesburg Renewable Energy
Coalition (JREC). It builds on a 2004 feasibility study that
assessed various options for designing a new targeted public-private
financing partnership. The design was guided by the debates
at the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD)
and the first international high-level conference of the JREC,
held in June 2003 in Brussels. Interim results were presented
and discussed inter alia at the International Renewable Energy
Conference in Bonn in June 2004). EIB, KfW, the UNDP and IFC
provided inputs during the feasibility stage of this new Fund.
The Commission – in close co-operation with other sponsors
– is in the process of finalising the legal set up of GEEREF
in order for the fund to become operational before the end of
2007.
Further information
- Communication from the Commission to the Council and
European Parliament.
Mobilising public and private finance towards global access
to climate-friendly, affordable and secure energy services:
The Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund 
- Impact assessment:
Mobilising public and private finance towards global access
to climate-friendly, affordable and secure energy services:
The Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund
