With the Paris Agreement in December 2015 countries committed to decarbonise the economy in this century. Just a few months before in September, the United Nations agreed a set of Sustainable Development Goals including providing access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. Currently, 1 in 5 people lack access to energy.

In this policy memo, Dr Thomas Hale explores the risks and opportunities presented by the radical expansion of low-carbon energy with a focus on export credit agencies and investment insurers, which collectively finance around US$2 trillion of trade and investment each year.

To manage these risks and achieve growth, export credit providers and investment insurers can cooperate via the Berne Union (the international organisation and community for the global export credit and investment insurance industry) to set collective goals to:

• Reduce and eventually phase out high-carbon financing
• Expand low carbon financing
• Increase access to energy