The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville marked a pivotal moment for linking international financial architecture (IFA) reform with the urgent need for equitable energy access. While energy was not a headline issue, the Sevilla Commitment and its Sevilla Platform for Action (SPA) provide concrete entry points to reduce the cost of capital, expand concessional finance, reform debt frameworks, and enhance the role of multilateral and national development banks in driving clean energy investment.
This policy brief shows how these outcomes can help close the financing gap that leaves Africa and other low-income regions far behind in the global energy transition. It argues that turning commitments into impact requires stronger mandates for DFIs, scaled-up blended finance, local currency lending, and streamlined climate funds, alongside sustained political will from finance ministries and donor governments. Without ambitious implementation, shrinking ODA budgets and weak accountability risk turning FfD4 into another missed opportunity. With coordinated follow through, however, FfD4 can lay the foundations for a just and inclusive clean energy future that leaves no one behind.
