Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet seeks to expand renewables in developing nations, where energy access gaps and climate risks collide.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is firmly planted in the energy business — from the massive electricity demand of his cloud data centers to his growing climate philanthropy. Now, the Bezos Earth Fund is backing a global push to expand clean energy in developing countries. Alongside the IKEA Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation, the Earth Fund supports the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), which plans to mobilize $7.5 billion over the next five years. The funding drive, first reported by Reuters, comes as aid for clean energy falls short and hundreds of millions still lack reliable power.
The alliance’s goal is to accelerate the shift to affordable, reliable electricity by deploying solar, wind, battery storage, and modernized grids. By blending philanthropic money with private capital, GEAPP aims to lower investment risk and make clean energy projects viable in regions where financing has lagged.
GEAPP leaders say about $500 million in new philanthropic commitments could unlock far larger sums from institutional investors and development banks. This marks the alliance’s second major push, building on its first round of work that mobilized about $7.8 billion, reached some 240 million people, and helped avoid nearly a billion metric tons of carbon emissions, according to Reuters.
Big renewable projects usually land in wealthier markets where investors see safer returns. GEAPP is testing whether blended finance can move capital into places where the need for power is high but the infrastructure is thin.
If it succeeds, it could offer a model for how philanthropy, governments, and private investors work together to expand global energy access.
The Bottom Line
The $7.5 billion push for clean energy abroad underscores a simple truth: climate change and energy inequality are deeply connected. Expanding renewables in places where power is scarce isn’t only about cutting emissions — it’s about keeping schools open, clinics running, and businesses growing. And it matters everywhere, because energy and climate don’t operate like gated communities. What happens in one region shapes the stability of the whole system. The energy transition only works when it reaches all of us.
