Oil, gas and energy multinational companies TotalEnergies, bp, Equinor and Shell have made a $500-million joint investment commitment to create positive energy access impact for people in key regions over the coming years.

The funds will help to support UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7), which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all.

The joint investment seeks to support promising, high-impact projects, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, aimed at helping millions of people in underserved communities gain access to electricity and improved cooking conditions.

The shared intent of the companies is for the committed capital to be invested in a broad range of solutions, including solar home systems, mini or metro grids, clean cooking solutions, and enabling technologies, such as e-mobility, energy storage and management solutions.

Over the coming years, this has the potential to support SDG 7, while also generating co-benefits such as job creation and improved health outcomes, the companies said.

A global private equity firm with a strong record in impact investing has been selected to manage the joint investment. The firm's expertise will strategically direct the investments to create social impact and financial returns, while engaging with governments, international organisations, financial institutions, the private sector, civil society and philanthropies.

The firm will also share learnings, provide technical assistance, and address market barriers.

Progress towards universal energy access has stalled, particularly amidst recent macroeconomic shocks and rising energy prices. In 2022, the number of people without access to electricity globally increased by about ten-million to 685-million.

Additionally, approximately 2.1-billion people, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, lack access to clean cooking facilities, which disproportionately impacts women and girls who often bear the brunt of domestic responsibilities.

“TotalEnergies is deeply committed to making energy accessible to all. About a third of our development in electricity in the coming years will be in emerging countries, which will enable about 40-million people to benefit from access to electricity,” says TotalEnergies chairperson and CEO Patrick Pouyanné.

“With this new joint initiative with our peers, we are activating another lever to contribute to high-impact local projects to help achieve the SDG 7 by 2030,” he adds.

“It is early days, but we hope that by jointly investing, we will be able to contribute to wider efforts to tackle the very real challenge of access to energy. Over time, we believe it can help to create a more inclusive energy future for some of the many millions of people who lack that access today,” says bp CEO Murray Auchincloss.

“This joint investment brings together four leading energy companies investing in emerging countries. We believe this effort will help close some of the energy access gaps, which is a key part in reaching the global ambition of a just and equitable energy transition,” says Equinor president and CEO Anders Opedal.

“Shell wants to support accelerated progress towards universal energy access as we believe it has the power to transform lives. This joint investment will help to do that. By working collectively to overcome key energy access challenges we can achieve sustained impact and drive real change,” says Shell CEO Wael Sawan.