This event is at capacity, registration is closed.
Building Abundant Energy in the Global South – Energy Opportunity Forum 2026
The Center on Global Energy Policy will host a public program during New York Climate Week focused on energy for development, the energy transition, and universal energy abundance – a concept focused on increasing the availability of reliable and affordable energy to enable greater prosperity and well-being in emerging and developing economies.
Building the industries of the future, raising economic productivity, creating jobs and opportunity, and meeting the rising aspirations of a young global population require much higher levels of energy supplies than many low- and middle-income countries have available today. The unfolding geopolitical context and changing trade relationships have created challenges as well as new opportunities for countries seeking to secure energy abundance.
This event will be a program of CGEP’s Energy Opportunity Lab and will feature topics under discussion in the work of the High-Level Panel on Universal Energy Abundance, which CGEP has created with support from The Rockefeller Foundation.
The event will feature high-level discussions with leaders who have expertise and diverse points of view on issues related to energy for development, financing, affordability, and industrial policy. Topics include:
Financing Universal Energy Abundance in the Global South: Closing the energy investment gap in emerging and developing economies remains one of the central obstacles to achieving universal energy abundance, requiring new approaches to de-risking capital, mobilizing concessional and private finance, and rethinking the role of development finance institutions. This conversation will discuss how shifting geopolitical and trade dynamics are further complicating the already-challenging issues of capital flows to the Global South, and what innovative financing models can unlock the scale of investment needed.
Aligning Energy Infrastructure and Industrial Policies: As countries in the Global South pursue industrialization, energy infrastructure planning and industrial policy are becoming increasingly intertwined, with governments looking to sequence power investments alongside strategies for manufacturing, job creation, and economic diversification. This conversation will explore how national and multilateral leaders are designing infrastructure and industrial policies that leverage abundant, reliable energy to drive productivity and competitiveness.
Confirmed Speakers include:
- Rania Al-Mashat, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia; United Nations
- Jonathan Elkind, Senior Research Scholar; Center on Global Energy Policy
- Carol Koech, Vice President for Africa; Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet
- Ashish Khanna, Director General; International Solar Alliance
- Dr. Luisa Palacios, Senior Research Scholar; Center on Global Energy Policy
- Diego Mesa Puyo, incoming CEO and Chairperson; Global Environment Facility
- Dr. Vivek Shastry, Senior Research Associate; Center on Global Energy Policy
- Zainab Usman, Senior Research Scholar and Energy Opportunity Lab Managing Director of International Programs; Center on Global Energy Policy
- Cassady Walters, Vice President, Power; The Rockefeller Foundation
Advance registration is required, and walk-up attendance will not be permitted.
For more information about the event, please contact [email protected].
