This year’s COP30 climate conference in Belém, Brazil, was billed as the “implementation COP”: an inflection point when the Paris Agreement process pivots from negotiation to action. And indeed, throughout my time in Belém, there was an overwhelming focus on action – nowhere more than in the side events and conversations I had about mobilizing private capital to accelerate the transition from coal to clean in developing countries.
That is the goal of Kinetic Coalition, a new initiative led by C2ES to drive and accelerate investment in clean energy systems in emerging economies by catalyzing a market for high-integrity energy transition credits. Energy demand is surging throughout the world – but especially so in developing countries where increasing electricity supply is not just about feeding another data center but also about powering economic growth, lifting populations out of poverty, and providing reliable, around-the-clock energy to households that don’t have it. If the world is to have any hope of meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, we need to enable developing countries to build energy systems that can deliver affordable, reliable, and secure electricity – without the air pollution and carbon emissions that come from coal. Carbon finance from energy transition credits can be one source of much-needed finance. That’s what Kinetic exists to help make possible.
Reflections from Belém
COP30 was housed in an enormous tentlike structure erected for the purpose. A maze of pavilions, each sponsored by a country or institution, showcased a dazzling array of side events, meetings, and panels. After walking through the metal detectors and getting your badge scanned, you’d find the Singapore pavilion just past the entrance. Light and airy, festooned with cutouts that evoke a botanical garden, it was one of the loveliest pavilions at the COP. It was also home to a series of events on climate finance – including two on energy transition credits held in partnership with Kinetic.
On Day 2 of COP, I was in the meeting room in the back of the Singapore pavilion. Ravi Menon, Singapore’s first Ambassador for Climate Action, and I were co-hosting a meeting to introduce the Kinetic Coalition to countries that might eventually consider buying energy transition credits to help finance clean energy systems in emerging economies. We introduced participating countries and representatives to two models that Kinetic is pioneering. One approach, which we are piloting in the Philippines, will use energy transition credits to help finance the early retirement of coal plants that would otherwise continue operating for years or decades – and replace them with clean electricity, such as solar power plus battery storage. The second approach, which we are piloting in the Dominican Republic, will use energy transition credits to drive large-scale transformation across entire electric grids, supporting a broad range of activities necessary for the clean energy transition –improving and upgrading grids, adding energy storage, replacing fossil fuel generation with clean energy, and implementing enabling policies. It is truly a needs-based approach, tailored to the circumstances of individual countries.
The next day, I spoke at an event hosted by Abigail Ng, Chief Sustainability Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to discuss the release of the Final Report of the Transition Credits Coalition (TRACTION), a two-year initiative spearheaded by MAS. I highlighted how TRACTION is establishing the integrity, scalability, and demand for energy transition credits – and how initiatives like Kinetic can advance this work even further. Also on the panel was Liz Yee of The Rockefeller Foundation, another close partner of Kinetic’s and a leader in driving the coal-to-clean transition. Liz emphasized the importance of ensuring a just transition for coal plant workers and their communities – also a core priority of Kinetic’s and a requirement of the methodologies used to generate credits. At the close of the event, Liz and I joined over a dozen other representatives of the public, private, and nonprofit sectors on the small stage for a “family photo” with all the signatories of the Statement of Support for Energy Transition Credits.
Throughout the week, I continued to meet with countries and organizations working toward the shared goal of a just energy transition, including the World Bank – also close partners – and the Powering Past Coal Alliance, launched at COP23 in Bonn.
I’ll have more to share on COP30’s conclusion and all that comes next. At Kinetic, we are looking forward to finishing this year strong together and setting up 2026 to be a banner year in the effort to advance energy prosperity and accelerate the just clean energy transition.