CAFOD marks Paris signing with call on DFID to back Energy Poverty Plan

CAFOD is marking the signing of the Paris climate agreement this week by calling on the Department for International Development (DFID) to implement a new Energy Poverty Plan and bring electricity to many more poor communities overseas by the end of this parliament.

CAFOD is launching Power to the People, a campaign action enabling supporters to email Nick Hurd MP, a minister at DFID, calling him to support bringing energy access to some of the world's poorest people. One in five people around the world do not have access to the electricity they need to power schools, clinics, homes and businesses. Local, renewable sources of energy are the most affordable way of reaching those without electricity access, given they often live in very rural areas. Renewable energy has the added benefit of not contributing to the problem of climate change, which hits poor communities hardest.

Daniel Hale, Head of Campaigns at CAFOD, said: "This is about making sure the UK government keeps the promises it made in Paris. By giving a greater share of support to renewable energy access overseas the UK government can deliver on its commitment to move away from fossil fuels while also helping poor communities develop.

"Inspired by Pope Francis' encyclical, the Catholic community in England and Wales really raised its voice ahead of the Paris talks to push for action on climate change and, with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris agreement having set us on a new path towards sustainable development, we're asking Catholic campaigners to help us ensure the UK government sticks to its pledges."

CAFOD supporters will ask Nick Hurd MP to deliver the agency's Energy Poverty Plan by the end of this Parliament, which calls for an urgent shift in UK support overseas from fossil fuels towards renewable energy and energy access.

The Energy Poverty Plan asks DFID to:

1. Substantially increase the share of its energy support going to energy access, in line with DFID's core objectives to support Sustainable Development Goal 7 and women and girls' economic empowerment.

2. Ensure that two-thirds of energy access support goes to the decentralised electricity and clean cooking solutions needed by most people living in energy poverty

3. Ensure DFID transparently reports on the development impacts of its energy programming and promotes the participation of poor groups in designing and delivering energy services.

The launch of the Energy Poverty Plan follows the release of research conducted by CAFOD and the Overseas Development Institute last year which found that 43% of the money the UK government spent on energy in developing countries went on polluting fossil fuels, compared to only 19% on renewable sources of energy.

See: http://cafod.org.uk/About-us/Policy-and-Research/Climate-and-energy/Sustainable-energy/Analysis-UK-support-for-energy