The Directorate-General for Natural Resources and Energy (DGRNE)2 of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Natural Resources and Environment (MOPIRNA)3 and the National Designated Authority (NDA) at the Ministry of Planning, Finance and Blue Economy (MPFEA), are partnering with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to implement a GCF Readiness proposal.4 The provided support will be coordinated with the National Climate Change Committee (NCCC) at the Directorate-General for Environment (DGE) in MOPIRNA, which is tasked to overlook the national climate adaptation and mitigating efforts.

The Readiness support will strengthen the capacities of the Government and private sector to implement an enabling policy and regulatory framework, which will attract climate finance, foreign direct investment (FDI) and private participation in the renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) sector. The Readiness support will result in the formulation of a paradigm-shifting investment program, which is directed to achieve the climate mitigation targets in the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and will unlock other economic and social co- benefits through the reduction of fossil fuel imports.

The GCF Readiness support will help to overcome existing supply-side and demand-side barriers for the RE&EE market uptake. These barriers are related to institutional capacity, policy and regulation, knowledge management, qualification, entrepreneurship, as well as access to finance and technology. The main direct beneficiaries of the support are DGRNE/MOPIRNA, the NDA, other institutional players, such as the National Water and Electricity Company (EMAE),5 the General Regulatory Authority (AGER),6 the Autonomous Region of Principe (RAP)7, as well as the domestic private sector.

The GCF Readiness proposal applies a holistic approach and focuses on a paradigm-shift of the entire energy sector. It builds on past and ongoing readiness activities, closes gaps, complements and/or up-scales existing support. Past readiness approaches in the RE&EE sector have been rather fragmented and uncoordinated. Past efforts have been solely focused on the electricity sector and existing barriers for RE&EE were not addressed in a coherent way across sectors. Over the past ten years, STP does not count any measurable progress regarding RE&EE expansion.