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More than 750 million people worldwide are without electricity, and energy poverty is a powerful driver of economic and health inequality. While Mr Bloomberg’s investment is aimed at tackling climate change, Ms Ogunbiyi said the funds could also help address a variety of crises caused or exacerbated by the lack of electricity, including food shortages and inadequate medical care.

“It’s important to understand that this is a crisis in and of itself,” he said. “People who don’t have access to electricity or clean cooking are not an inconvenience. That’s the difference between life and death for many people, and it needs to be treated as an emergency.”

According to one study, total investments in clean energy in developing countries were less than $150 billion in 2020. June 2021 International Energy Agency reportHe warned that by the end of the decade, such financing would need more than $1 trillion a year to put the world on track to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

Ogünbiyi said that as Sustainable Energy for All and other organizations are working with 10 countries to create energy transition plans or update existing plans, they will encourage countries’ leaders to sign their “no new coal” commitments.

The idea behind the type of investment Mr Bloomberg makes is that a philanthropic organization like him takes the biggest risk early on on a project that decision-makers might otherwise suspect, and if it works, the project becomes attractive to traditional investors. Later, said Rachel Kyte, dean of Tufts University’s Fletcher School and former CEO of Sustainable Energy for All.

Even if Mr. Bloomberg’s money can reduce financial barriers, the political barriers remain formidable. Tom Sanzillo, director of financial analysis at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said the fossil fuel industry’s deep opposition to renewable energy development is “a major hurdle”.

But what funds like Mr. Bloomberg’s can do is lay the foundations on which the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy has become the smartest financial decision for companies. Mr Sanzillo said that means increasing the risk associated with fossil fuel development. It also means reducing the risk associated with renewable energy development.

“Overall, I think market forces are on Bloomberg’s side,” Mr. Sanzillo said. “If he had done this 10 years ago, I would have said it probably wouldn’t work. I think there’s a better wind at your back here.”