New partnership will enable refugees and host communities in Ethiopia to monetize renewable energy.
Kigali, Rwanda — Mercy Corps is launching a new partnership with Energy Peace Partners (EPP) to advance clean, sustainable and affordable energy services in humanitarian settings in the countries where the two organizations work, starting in Ethiopia. Mercy Corps and EPP will help refugees and host communities access energy products and services and use energy to generate income.
Mercy Corps’ Enter Energy - Ethiopia program supports its humanitarian energy company HumEn PLC to create a replicable, market-based model to provide clean, sustainable, reliable and affordable energy services in humanitarian settings. The partnership with EPP will explore the market viability of the Peace Renewable Energy Credit (P-REC), which seeks to accelerate the transition to renewable energy in conflict-affected areas.
"We are thrilled to be collaborating with a non-profit dedicated to harnessing climate finance to promote global peace," said Cecilia Ragazzi, Mercy Corps’ Director of Energy Access.
"Together, Mercy Corps and EPP will use renewable energy to generate sustainable financing for energy access in fragile contexts, including places affected by displacement. With climate change, conflict, and COVID-19 eroding much of the development achievements gained over the last decade and forcing millions more people into poverty, there has never been a more pressing need to assist communities in regaining greater access to cleaner, more affordable, and sustainable energy.”
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Energy Peace Partners (EPP) is a non-profit organization that leverage climate and finance solutions, primarily through the development of an innovative financing mechanism called the Peace Renewable Energy Credit (P-REC). P-RECs monetizes renewable energy generated in fragile states to meet corporate commitments to sustainability and social responsibility.
Mercy Corps is a global team of 5,400 humanitarians working to create a world where everyone can prosper. In more than 40 countries affected by crisis, disaster, poverty and climate change we work alongside communities, local governments, forward-thinking corporations and social entrepreneurs to meet urgent needs and develop long-term solutions to make lasting change possible. Mercy Corps has a total operating budget of $550M and last year reached over 50 million people. Mercy Corps merged with Energy 4 Impact in September 2021, bringing Energy 4 Impact’s energy expertise into Mercy Corps’ portfolio of humanitarian and development programs to increase access to climate-smart, sustainable energy.