Climate Compatible Growth programme receives funding boost from UK government

The Climate Compatible Growth (CCG) programme, led by the Sustainable Transitions: Energy, Environment and Resilience Centre at Loughborough University, has been granted a five-year extension – having originally been due to end in Spring 2025. The funding outlined by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during the G7 Summit includes £57m of Overseas Development Aid for CCG.

CCG began as a £38m programme supporting investment in sustainable energy and transport systems to meet development priorities in the global south. During the extended project, national and international research partners including the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and Imperial College London, will deliver the economic tools and decision support frameworks needed to make green transitions possible in countries in the Global South – with Nepal and Malawi being added to the project’s six partner countries¹. The CCG team includes experts in practical, applicable research in sustainable development and related topics.

We are not just driving investments into energy and transport systems in low- and middle-income countries; but are ensuring that these decisions are guided by principles of equity and fairness.

Prof. Stephanie Hirmer, Associate Professor in Climate Compatible Growth in Oxford’s Energy and Power Group and interim CCG Research Director, leads on the project for the University of Oxford. Together with Professor Mark Howells (Loughborough and Imperial Universities), Prof. Hirmer leads the workstream ‘Advanced GIS modelling of Integrated Systems Analysis’.

Prof. Hirmer says, “This next phase of the CCG programme is particularly exciting. We are not just driving investments into energy and transport systems in low- and middle-income countries; but are ensuring that these decisions are guided by principles of equity and fairness.”

The focus for Prof. Hirmer’s team is on understanding and addressing the distributional impacts of infrastructure design decisions, with a commitment to ensuring equitable access and the fair distribution of resources. She adds, “In effect this means knowing where to best place and how to design infrastructure solutions so that everyone benefits, especially underserved or disadvantaged groups that are commonly not separately considered in planning decisions.”

“An example of this would be to consider where green hydrogen production sites in Kenya can best be placed economically but also where it can provide power to rural communities that are not connected to the grid, or where electric vehicle charging stations for minibuses in Kenya should be located to ensure the safety and security of women that travel in the early morning hours, such as care workers.”

The transition to low-carbon economies in low and middle income countries, which the CCG programme is facilitating, also needs to be resilient to the intensifying impacts of climate change.

Other Oxford teams will lead workstreams on Economics and Policy (Professor Samuel Fankhauser, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment), Investment Pipeline (Dr Alex Money, Smith School) and Sector Interaction (Professor Jim Hall, Environmental Change Institute). Professor Hall says, “The transition to low-carbon economies in low and middle income countries, which the CCG programme is facilitating, also needs to be resilient to the intensifying impacts of climate change. The research of the Oxford Programme for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems, within the Environmental Change Institute, is providing data and tools to stress-test the resilience of infrastructure systems and prioritize adaptation actions.”

Christian Brand, Professor of Transport, Energy and Climate Change at the Transport Studies Unit says, “Our Decarbonising Transport theme, co-led by the Transport Studies Unit, focuses on developing pathways to transport electrification in our key partner countries Kenya, Laos, Pakistan, India and Ethiopia. By going beyond the electrification of transport and looking at the whole energy-transport system, we aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and create economic opportunities in these regions. Our collaborative research will continue to transform data into impactful projects, mobilizing billions in finance and driving inclusive development across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.”

In providing the funding, the UK government described the funding of Overseas Development Aid as a way to “accelerate the roll-out of improved, climate resilient infrastructure in developing countries. It will provide even more countries across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia with the UK expertise needed to support improved, climate resilient infrastructure.”

By going beyond the electrification of transport and looking at the whole energy-transport system, we aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and create economic opportunities in these regions.

Professor Mark Howells, Director of CCG, commented, "The extension of the Climate Compatible Growth programme to 2030, empowers lower- and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the Global South to use their universities to cultivate the skilled workforce essential for accelerating sustainable economic growth. Together our work not only supports governments in transforming data into impactful infrastructure deals but also helps them to unlock significant market opportunities from within their countries, mobilizing billions in finance to accelerate inclusive economic growth out of poverty.”

¹ The six original partner countries are Ghana, India, Kenya, Lao PDR, Vietnam and Zambia