Global utilities on November 14 announced a major surge in clean-energy spending, pledging $148 billion per year toward the energy transition—an increase of more than 25 per cent from earlier plans—under the Utilities for Net Zero Alliance (UNEZA).
The announcement, made at a high-level ministerial meeting on grids at the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, underscores a decisive pivot toward power networks and storage as governments and multilateral development banks (MDBs) simultaneously endorsed new global grid-financing principles intended to unlock capital for emerging economies.
The updated investment plan means UNEZA members, comprising many of the world’s largest utility companies, will collectively mobilise over $1 trillion in transition investments by 2030, since the group’s formation at COP28. The new commitments reflect a structural shift in how utilities see the energy transition advancing: from adding renewables alone to building the network backbone required to absorb and distribute them at scale.
Under the enhanced investment roadmap, members will channel US$66 billion annually into renewables, while $82 billion per year will go into grids and storage—a marked change from historical patterns where renewable generation dominated capital flows. For every dollar spent on renewables, UNEZA’s members will now invest $1.24 in grids and storage. That ratio, according to executives, reflects both urgency and a recognition that grid bottlenecks have become the single largest constraint on decarbonisation.
“Utilities worldwide are mobilising with investments that are tangible, substantial and aligned with the need for a more resilient and sustainable energy system,” said Jasim Husain Thabet, Group CEO of TAQA and UNEZA co-chair. “We are standing up to deliver the most significant infrastructure upgrade of our lifetime — a power system fit for the 21st century, and fulfilling the pledges made at COP28 and COP29.”
November 14’s ministerial meeting marked a rare moment of alignment between utilities, governments and MDBs. Countries and financial institutions endorsed the Climate Finance Principles for Green Grids, developed by the Green Grids Initiative (GGI) with support from UNEZA and the COP30 Presidency. The principles aim to unlock large-scale climate and development finance for grid infrastructure in emerging economies—regions often unable to secure low-cost capital despite having the largest unmet electrification and renewables-integration needs.
Signatories backing the principles include the African Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, British International Investment, East African Development Bank, GIZ, Climate Bonds Initiative, Grid Works, major investor groups, the Global Renewables Alliance, and the UK Government.
COP30 CEO Ana Toni, in a letter to MDB heads earlier this week, stressed the stakes: “Delivering on global goals for tripling renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency by 2030 will only be possible if grids keep pace. Through the Principles and the UNEZA partnership, we are turning global commitments into practical delivery, linking finance, policy, and implementation to build the resilient power systems that will enable a clean-energy future.”
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), $670 billion per year is required globally for grid expansion and strengthening between now and 2030—nearly double today’s investment levels.
“Grids are now the biggest roadblock to the energy transition, especially in emerging and developing countries,” said Francesco La Camera, IRENA Director General. “We must go beyond just building more wires. We need a systemic rethink that creates secure, affordable, and reliable power systems fit for the future.”
UNEZA’s strengthened commitments also respond to the Brazilian COP30 Presidency’s pressure to accelerate delivery, not just ambition. With renewable capacity additions now outpacing grid upgrades worldwide, more than 3,000 GW of renewable power is stuck in grid queues globally.
“The world is long on commitments and short on implementation,” said Martin Pibworth, CEO of SSE and UNEZA co-chair. “This is where the global utilities community is making a real difference, turning policy into progress by delivering tangible, critical electricity infrastructure on the ground. Last year, UNEZA members built enough new grids to stretch from Belém to New Zealand, and enough new renewables to meet half the peak demand of India.”
UN Climate Change High-Level Champion Dan Ioschpe argued that the scale of investment reflects a deeper systems shift: “Resilient infrastructure is the foundation for climate ambition, sustainable growth, and energy security… The leadership and collaboration we see from the utilities community are reasons for true optimism. Their collective commitment to expand renewables, strengthen grids, and deploy storage reflects the kind of decisive corporate action that will define this decade.”
UNEZA also announced a suite of delivery mechanisms designed to resolve long-standing structural barriers to grid expansion—ranging from supply-chain shortages to regulatory bottlenecks.
The measures include:
· Pooled Procurement: Aggregating utility demand—beginning with Small Island Developing States—to reduce equipment costs and stabilise supply chains.
· Unlocking Stranded Gigawatts: Using data-driven planning tools, flexible grid-access regimes and new regulatory models to connect renewable projects stuck behind congested or outdated infrastructure.
· Investment Trust Fund: Launching consultations on a global fund intended to drive long-term, low-cost finance into grid and renewable projects by leveraging UNEZA’s project pipeline.
Separately, UNEZA’s new partnership with the Global Clean Power Alliance (GCPA)—led by the UK—aims to tackle supply-chain vulnerabilities by bringing 12 governments together with 70 utilities and power-sector companies.
Battery manufacturing giant CATL emphasised the importance of grid flexibility as renewable penetration accelerates. “Energy storage emerges as the critical flexibility resource for a secure energy transition,” said CATL Chairman Robin Zeng. “We count on UNEZA as a key mechanism to help fulfil this ambition, ensuring COP30 marks a decisive step forward.”
With calls intensifying for COP30 to deliver clear outcomes on grids and storage—elements campaigners argue are essential for a fossil-fuel phase-out—the announcements push these issues firmly into the centre of political negotiations.
For the COP30 Presidency, the alignment signals momentum. For utilities, it represents the largest coordinated grid investment plan in history. And for emerging economies, the new financing principles may offer the long-awaited capital pathway to build the power systems their climate and development goals depend on.