World Bank And Japan Sign RISE Pact to Boost Clean Energy Investments

World Bank And Japan Sign RISE Pact to Boost Clean Energy Investments. Photo: World Bank

World Bank and Japan have signed an administration arrangement outlining the terms and conditions to implement the Resilient and Inclusive Supply-chain Enhancement (RISE) Partnership, which was officially launched in October 2023. The agreement was signed between the World Bank Vice President for Infrastructure, Mr. Guangzhe Chen, and the Executive Director for Japan at the World Bank, Mr. Hideaki Imamura on February 23.

Japan is contributing a total of $25 million to RISE and has committed to advancing this initiative in close cooperation with various stakeholders. In addition to Japan, several other countries, including Canada, Germany, Italy, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom, have pledged initial contributions totaling more than $50 million, and more donors are expected to join.

The RISE partnership will help emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs) increase manufacturing of clean-energy products and boost their participation in the minerals industry—leading to quality local jobs and economic growth.

RISE will prioritise three key areas: conducting comprehensive analytical work, delivering technical assistance, and fostering capacity building and skills development. Additionally, RISE will facilitate investment by leveraging local/regional information platforms. Collaborative partnerships between governments, investors, Regional Development Banks, bilateral Development Finance Institutions, Export Credit Agencies, and industry associations will enable the seamless exchange of information. This comprehensive approach will allow RISE to unlock investment opportunities in the midstream and downstream supply chains of clean energy products, conducive to sustainable economic growth, job creation, and infrastructure improvement in developing countries.

According to several media reports, the cumulative installed capacity for solar PV in Japan was 84.91 GW in 2022. It is expected to achieve a CAGR of more than 6% during 2022-2035.

Earlier, the World Bank extended a facility of close to $300 million to the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), to support distributed renewable energy (DRE) and clean cooking private sector projects in eligible countries of the World Bank’s International Development Association.