Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced a $242 million expansion to its efforts to help the world transition to clean energy.

Announced during the Sustainable Energy for All forum in Kigali, Rwanda, the investment will expand current energy transition efforts to Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey, and Vietnam. Efforts will be focused on five key pillars, which include delivering data and research to government and financial decision makers to help accelerate renewable investments; developing public awareness and education campaigns; working with countries to implement energy transition policies through advocacy, convenings, and international collaboration; launching clean energy pilot projects; and exploring strategies to phase out coal use. Among other leading groups, key partners include Sustainable Energy for All and ClimateWorks Foundation.

According to data from Climatescope, the added countries account for nearly 100GW of coal power plant capacity and collectively have more than 75GW of coal capacity under construction or planned; however, in almost all these markets, wind or solar is the cheapest source of new clean energy generation.

“We’ve seen that it’s possible to increase access to affordable power, improve public health, and fight climate change all at the same time—and to make progress quickly in each area,” said Bloomberg Philanthropies founder Michael R. Bloomberg, who serves as the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for climate ambition and solutions “We’ve already helped close more than two-thirds of U.S. coal plants, and more than half of Europe’s, faster than almost anyone thought was possible, while also reaping economic benefits. We have to spread that success around the world, especially in developing countries that have contributed the least to the climate crisis but are facing the most severe effects. This support will help ten countries with enormous clean energy potential seize the opportunity and avoid building new coal plants. Those steps will also help clean their air, create new jobs, grow their economies, and protect communities from harm—and set an example for countries around the world.”

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