New York, 25 September 2025 — New commitments to boost renewable energy and increase access to electricity and clean cooking technologies by 2030 have brought the finance and investment pledged through the United Nations to US$ 1.6 trillion, with $284 billion already mobilized, according to the fourth edition of the Energy Compacts Annual Progress Report being released today.
The report, which is being launched at the EnergyNow SDG7 Action Forum on the margins of the UN General Assembly, shows expanding action under the Energy Compact voluntary commitments on both energy access and transition. Of the $284 billion mobilized or deployed since 2021 through the Compacts, the majority has been private sector investment in renewable power generation. The report cites figures from the 2025 Tracking SDG7 Report that over $4 trillion total investment is needed annually to reduce the ranks of 660 million people living without electricity and over 2 billion still cooking with polluting fuels, while setting the world on a climate action trajectory towards net-zero emissions by 2050 and averting ever-worsening climate impacts.
"The world is entering a decisive moment for energy," noted the leadership of UN-Energy -- Haoliang Xu, Acting Administrator of UNDP and Co-Chair of UN-Energy; Damilola Ogunbiyi, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy; and Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, which serves as the Secretariat for UN-Energy.
"Choices made today will determine not only whether we achieve our climate and development goals, but also how future generations experience prosperity, equity, and security," the three UN-Energy leaders added. "The Energy Compacts are proving that transformation is possible [..], that solutions to advance the global energy transition are no longer abstract -- they are investment-ready and being scaled, adapted, and delivered."
Expanding results on energy transition and access
Progress on achieving affordable and clean energy for all -- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 -- has been moving forward, but not at the scale and pace needed to meet the deadline of the 2030 Agenda or the climate targets under the Paris Agreement. The Energy Compacts progress report outlines commitments from governments and the private sector, which include planned spending by countries for both domestic and international action to increase energy access, efficiency and renewables, as well as private sector investment slated in these areas. Since the Energy Compacts were launched in 2021-- in connection with the UN High-level Dialogue on Energy -- 209 commitments have been registered and substantial results generated, according to the report.
By providing new and improved electricity connections, Energy Compact proponents have enhanced electricity access for 285 million people, a significant increase of 108 million people in the past year. Progress on enhancing clean cooking access by Energy Compact proponents remains slower, with 33 million people added since 2021, up from 23 million last year. The latest Tracking SDG7 Report showed that population growth in Sub-Saharan Africa continues to outpace access gains, leaving approximately 14 million additional people without clean cooking solutions every year.
Updated figures also show how Energy Compacts have had positive impacts on a wide range of SDG goals, such as improving electricity access at over 10,400 health facilities (SDG3), and by helping to deploy over 2.8 million electric vehicles and over 336,000 charging stations (SDG11).
The report includes guidance on how national governments, regions and cities, private companies, financial institutions, UN agencies and civil society organizations can submit their own Energy Compact commitments through an online process.
The report notes that, as countries roll out their updated national climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, incorporating energy targets through national Energy Compacts can serve as an important tool, citing Indonesia and Nepal as examples. Case studies in the report highlight the diversity of Energy Compacts, ranging from a woman-led, solar-powered digital community centre in Guatemala to a Japanese business that enables customers to track the source of their electricity, as needed to work towards 24/7 carbon-free energy.
The report was prepared by UN-Energy, the coordination mechanism which includes nearly 30 UN and international organizations that work on energy issues, with data compiled and analysed by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL).
ABB Invests Over $500 Million in U.S. Facilities to Support Growing Demand in Energy and Data Sectors
Swiss-based global energy technology firm ABB Inc. is upping its greatly expanded investment in U.S. manufacturing by another $110 million this year to strengthen research and development around advanced electrification for the commercial and industrial sectors.
The latest manufacturing investment follows ABB’s $170 million commitment to its U.S. facilities two years ago. Those include projects around motor drives in Wisconsin and manufacturing, robotics and other services in New Mexico, Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.
This month’s investment expansion could create nearly 200 new jobs in products serving growth industries such as data centers and the power grid. The International Energy Agency and other forecasters such as Goldman Sachs are forecasting a tremendous demand growth due to artificial intelligence and cloud-based computing, as well as industrial and transportation electrification.
The $110 million new investment will help create a new production line in Mississippi for ABB’s Emax3 circuit breakers. The capital will also be spent to double the footprint of ABB’s power quality and protection equipment manufacturing in Richmond, Virginia, which is opening later this year.
“This $110 million investment in the US is part of our long-term strategy to support future growth in our biggest global market,” said Morten Wierod, ABB CEO, in a statement. “Demand is being driven by key trends, from the surging power needs of AI in data centers, to grid modernization and customers improving energy efficiency and uptime to reduce their costs. Our investments will ensure we can meet growing demand from customers across North America in line with our local-for-local strategy.”
ABB will invest $30 million of its capital to expand three new production lines in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, where the company manufactures smart circuit breakers and switching devices. That expansion will bring 90 new skilled labor jobs by the end of 2026, according to the company.
ABB also is increasing capacity for advanced low- and medium-voltage grid components at its plant in Pinetops, North Carolina, which is going to open next year also.
Earlier this year, ABB announced $120 million investment for new manufacturing sites in Selmer, Tennessee and Senatobia, Mississippi. These are both plants to produce electrical distribution and circuit breakers to market beginning in 2026.
“Demand is increasing steadily for advanced electrification technologies, driven by growth in key sectors including data centers and utilities,” Wierod at the time of the March 2025 announcement. “Our new facilities in Selmer and Senatobia will keep our U.S. customers at the cutting edge of the energy transition and help them meet their performance, productivity and energy efficiency goals.”
Including the past three years, ABB has committed more than $500 million of new investment in its U.S. manufacturing operations. U.S. revenues for the company total nearly $9 billion annually, while the workforce is close to 17,000 people across those facilities.
At last week's RE+ energy conference--where more than 40,000 industry insiders gathered in Las Vegas to talk about the energy transition, enthusiasm and optimism were high for electrification and decarbonization despite recent political headwinds against renewables.
“Technology wins,” said Brian Nelson, renewable segment leader at Swiss-based energy technology giant ABB. “Technology will continue to push the evolution of renewable energy further and further.”
On a purely company level, Nelson highlighted the rise of new 2,000-volt capacity for solar energy collection, pushing module capabilities higher and energy denser than ever.
