Ep71 Innovative models for sustainable financing, ft Woochong Um, Global Energy Alliance

Fuel your understanding of climate finance and energy transition. Join Woochong Um, CEO of the Global Energy Alliance, as he reveals how bold partnerships and innovative financing are powering global clean energy solutions. Discover real-world stories of impact, scaling technologies, and breaking down barriers to a greener future. Tune in to unlock the future of sustainable development.

GEAPP REPORT: Impact Report 2025

ABOUT WOOCHONG: Woochong Um is the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP). Following a distinguished career at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Woochong brings a wealth of experience and expertise in sustainable development, climate financing, and strategic development to GEAPP. At GEAPP, Woochong leads the Alliance’s strategy, finance mobilization and solutions to accelerate the transition to renewable energy in emerging economies, addressing a defining challenge of our time: ending energy poverty and tackling the climate crisis through a just transition to renewable energy. His appointment marks an important milestone for GEAPP’s commitment to realizing greater change and opportunities to unlock green energy in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean to power progress and secure an inclusive, resilient future for all.

FEEDBACK: Email Host | HOST, PRODUCTION, ARTWORK: Joseph Jacobelli | MUSIC: Ep0-29 The Open Goldberg Variations, Kimiko Ishizaka Ep30-50 Orchestra Gli Armonici – Tomaso Albinoni, Op.07, Concerto 04 per archi in Sol - III. Allegro. | Ep51 – Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G, Movement I (Allegro), BWV 1049 Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Transcript

***PLEASE NOTE: The text is an automatically generated transcript and may contain errors. For accuracy, only rely on the original recording.***

 Ep71 Innovative models for sustainable financing, ft Woochong Um, Global Energy Alliance

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, wherever you may be. Welcome to the Asia Climate Finance Podcast. Today is episode 71. In this episode, we spotlight the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. The Global Energy Alliance is an organisation that wants to accelerate the energy transition and deliver affordable, reliable power to those who need it most. It was founded at COP26, and connects more than 50 partners globally, from major philanthropies to leading development banks, all working towards a fairer, greener future. Our guest is Woochong Um, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Energy Alliance, a recognised leader in sustainable infrastructure. Woochong spent decades at the Asian Development Bank and has hands-on experience across Asia’s infrastructure development and energy challenges. Now at the Global Energy Alliance, he leads efforts to innovate, invest, and collaborate for real-world impact. If you are curious about how to mobilise billions, pilot new technology, and break through the silos slowing climate action, this episode is full of insights from Woochong. You will discover the behind-the-scenes challenges of building cross-sector alliances, learn why the right partnerships can transform whole regions, and hear why philanthropy truly matters. Expect real-world examples like battery storage in Delhi, bulk renewables in Africa, and digital grid innovation in India. By the end, you will understand what it really takes to turn grand energy ideas into reality. Before we start, a quick reminder that we welcome feedback and ideas for topics and guests. Our email address is at the top of the show notes. Enjoy the episode.

Hello, Woochong. Thank you so much for joining us. I know you are between meetings and trips, so we appreciate your time. Thank you for making it to the Asia Climate Finance Podcast.

WOOCHONG UM: Thank you, Joseph, for inviting me. This is really exciting and I am honoured to be here.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: You are far too kind. I am the one who is honoured. Woochong, we usually start with a brief personal introduction, something beyond the formal bio. Could you tell us a little about yourself and how you became interested in climate finance?

WOOCHONG UM: I am originally from Korea, I left Korea at age 11 and have lived in various parts of the world. So, I belong everywhere and nowhere at the same time. My lifelong passion is sport. I play, watch, and read about sports. That still drives me. Every morning I get up at 4.30am and go for a 45-minute run.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: Mm.

WOOCHONG UM: Rain or shine. The only time I do not go out is when it is below minus 15 degrees Celsius, which is very cold. In connection with sport, I have played many sports and football has been a major part of my life. I am going to the World Cup next year in the US, Mexico, and Canada.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: Mm.

WOOCHONG UM: There is one thing most do not know about me. Ever since I was little, my father, who also loved sport, suggested that as a boy I should learn to defend myself. So, he made me take Taekwondo, the Korean martial art. I am a fourth-degree black belt. I have not practised for a while, but I still carry my card just in case someone tries to attack me—so I can show my credentials and ask them to leave. It is great discipline.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: I will be sure not to ask you any tough questions, just in case.

WOOCHONG UM: That is something people generally do not know.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: Great. And how did you get interested in climate finance?

WOOCHONG UM: I evolved into that role. When I was at the Asian Development Bank I worked in infrastructure—water supply, sanitation, metro systems, and major hydropower systems. In around 2005, about 20 years ago, I became director for infrastructure to help shape the future of the organisation’s infrastructure strategy. We had a small group focused on the Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol. At the time, I knew a little, but not much. My friend Kubo—still a good friend—was an expert and involved me in developing the CDM in infrastructure context. Considering carbon credits and carbon markets in infrastructure is very relevant. I still recall Mr Kubo lecturing me for about an hour about all six greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, and so on. I was intrigued. He explained global warming, the sources, and the impacts. The famous phrase at the time was that the planet is heading towards a tipping point—like a boat gradually taking on water until eventually it turns over. Once that point is reached, there is no turning back to save the planet. That seemed farfetched then, but as the years passed, the tipping point felt increasingly near based on scientific evidence. I learned about sea level rise and, most recently, extreme heat. It is clearly a global crisis, and for future generations to have a life as livable and enjoyable as ours, we must act now.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: Mm-hmm.

WOOCHONG UM: In banking, action is about financing. Without finance, the planet cannot survive. Since I have worked in developing countries, that is where the most critical battle must be fought. Many people live in poverty and deserve the essentials—electricity, transport, sanitation. Unless climate is deeply integrated into development projects from the start, desired outcomes cannot be achieved. Development must go green, enabling emission reductions and supporting renewable energy. Renewable energy is better for economies—it may involve upfront investment, but recurring costs are much lower. As technology develops and costs fall, renewables become more viable, but, ultimately, we still need the funding.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: So you were with the Asian Development Bank for a long time. I do know Kubo-san. I worked with ADB in 2009 on developing a solar project in Thailand. We also did CDM carbon credits with ADB. That’s a story for another day. Could you tell us—I was...

WOOCHONG UM: I was part of the carbon fund that we created.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: So our paths crossed, although we did not meet. You have now been at the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet for a bit over a year, I believe. Could you tell us briefly about the organisation and its purpose?

WOOCHONG UM: The Global Energy Alliance was established nearly four years ago in Glasgow at COP26, supported by the Rockefeller, IKEA Foundation, and Bezos Earth Fund. The idea is to create systemic change, enabling all partners in the energy transition development space to collaborate. The reason is that many development players—multilateral development banks like the World Bank and ADB, bilateral institutions, think tanks, private sector—are each working towards energy transition milestones yet the number of people without modern energy remains high, and emissions are not moving in the right direction. We realised that players have not been leveraging one another for greater impact; for example, the multilateral development banks (MDBs) have long provided development financing using capital markets, but they need to retain AAA financial status, which makes it harder to mobilise finance for riskier projects in poorer countries and nascent technologies. In Africa, for instance, clean energy finance represents just 2% of total finance flows to the region, largely because MDBs and private investors have risk constraints. The Global Energy Alliance was set up to mobilise philanthropic capital, which is typically grant-based but can take various forms—grants, concessional loans, equity guarantees, and so on. Philanthropic capital, though smaller, is agile and able to tolerate higher risk. Our role is crucial because no other organisation can aggregate philanthropic capital and deploy it in partnership with others. The Alliance is like a tugboat helping larger tankers (the existing development players) navigate risky landscapes. We seek out opportunities in developing countries and pilot innovative projects, aiming to demonstrate and then scale up through further mobilisation by other investors. We reduce risk, sometimes by taking first-loss positions, but our main function is to show that investment can succeed in challenging regions and thereby attract more finance. We have over fifty alliance partners—MDBs, bilaterals, private sector parties, think tanks, philanthropic foundations.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: Right. You mentioned “alliance” repeatedly. The alliance-based model and the concept of public-private partnerships—or, as some call it, PPPPP—are central to the Global Energy Alliance’s approach, correct? How do these partnerships work in practice and what makes them transformative?

WOOCHONG UM: In my previous career I worked on PPP, bringing together public sector (e.g., MDBs) and private sector actors—both capital providers and project developers—to combine knowledge and realise projects. That approach has existed for decades. When we set up the Alliance, we noticed substantial philanthropic activity worldwide. Philanthropic capital is flexible and can invest boldly and innovatively, but initiatives often do not scale, since philanthropy cannot continue to fund demonstration projects indefinitely. Ultimately, private sector investment is required, as that drives growth, but private investors will only join if the regulatory environment is conducive and there are bankable projects with satisfactory returns. PPP is about public-private cooperation, but with philanthropy involved—public, private, philanthropic partnership—we can achieve a quantum leap and more innovative projects to help accelerate energy transition in developing countries. For example, in India we supported a battery storage project; as you know, solar energy is intermittent, so storage is essential. Battery technology and manufacturing costs have been falling. We supported a project in Delhi, integrating battery storage into a substation serving a crowded, low-income area with limited space. With some financing and capacity-building support for regulatory approvals, we demonstrated the value of procuring and integrating batteries within eight months. This piqued interest for replication throughout Delhi and beyond, attracting investment from MDBs and private parties. Our role is to initiate and facilitate these partnerships and projects.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: Right. How does the Global Energy Alliance ensure the long-term economic and financial sustainability of projects? What shapes your thinking about time horizons, exit strategies, and local ownership?

WOOCHONG UM: We do not conduct single projects for novelty’s sake. We look for technological solutions that can be scaled. We assess whether a pipeline of potential projects exists in a country and whether the regulatory environment is supportive. If not, we provide capacity-building ourselves or convene partner organisations like the UN, UNDP, or bilateral donors. We help develop bankable concepts—since private sector bankers often lament the lack of genuinely bankable projects. When piloting, we involve other potential partners early so they can continue financing beyond our involvement and tackle pain points that might deter larger investors. Through testing, we identify and address key risks, ensuring that lessons learned are broadly shared so capital flows can ramp up beyond what we provide.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: Got it. How does the Global Energy Alliance define success, and what does failure look like?

WOOCHONG UM: The development space is well established by long-standing partners, and there has been significant progress in breaking silos within development banks for climate finance. For example, in 2008 governments including the UK, US, and Japan established the Climate Investment Funds to channel concessional resources via the big multilateral development banks—World Bank, ADB, African Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, among others. Initially, there was resistance to close MDB cooperation, but over time it became a highly effective collaborative platform. Today, there are strong country platforms and government ownership. Philanthropy is currently going through a similar transition—many philanthropies work independently, but we seek to foster joint efforts, enhancing their ability to plug knowledge and resources into the larger development space. This is increasingly important as global geopolitical trends and domestic priorities like defence are constraining official development assistance budgets and concessional finance. Our aim is to galvanise philanthropies to pool resources for the global agenda, complementing their work on the ground. Success is breaking silos; failure is persisting in fragmented small-scale efforts which do not make a systemic energy transition.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: Education is undervalued. We all need multidisciplinary approaches and must educate all silos so that they understand why collaboration makes sense.

WOOCHONG UM: Absolutely. Alliance-building is not just about money, but about bringing people and knowledge together for shared goals, after which the finance will follow.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: The energy transition is an enormous global transformation impacting much more than just energy. It requires major shifts in mindset and knowledge—it is ultimately all about people, not even AI can help meaningfully with that (AI can help summarise, but cannot substitute people).

A couple of additional questions, specifically about the report. First, on strategic evolution and alliance-building: the report notes you are now focusing on building organisational partnerships rather than only providing grants, as that produces larger, lasting changes. What convinced you that alliance-building outperforms grant-making, and how do you measure effectiveness?

WOOCHONG UM: Over nearly four years, we have brought in substantial financing—USD 7.8 billion for clean energy transitions, spanning about 137 projects in 30 countries. This has expanded energy access for over 90 million people, created or supported over three million new jobs, and avoided nearly 300 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions. The goal by 2030 is to reach at least one billion people with clean energy, reduce emissions by four gigatonnes, and create 150 million jobs. Achieving this is only possible through alliance—it cannot be done by a single player. Our greatest impact comes when partners share knowledge and experience, identifying and filling gaps, which enables scalable expansion of clean energy solutions and new technology.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: On impact attribution: how do you know changes are because of your work and not others’ or natural trends? How do you avoid claiming credit for improvements not due to the Global Energy Alliance?

WOOCHONG UM: The most important thing is “crowding in” partners, not crowding out. We do not subsidise finance where others already can act without our support. As a midfielder, our job is to get others involved and only deploy our own finance where genuine gaps exist. Impact can thus be measured because these are interventions that would not occur without our input.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: On sustainability and exit: case studies show successful proofs of concept, but progress may stall without continued investment. What mechanisms ensure these interventions become self-sustaining, and how do you know when to exit?

WOOCHONG UM: Ideally, we exit as the market takes off, particularly led by the private sector. The most important design element is strong government ownership. For example, in five African countries (including Nigeria), high equipment costs were a barrier, so we facilitated bulk procurement—resulting in costs falling by 30%. With the World Bank, we scaled up bulk manufacturing region-wide; once this was done, further intervention became unnecessary. Another active example is the pilot in Rajasthan, India, developing digital twins of grid substations and using AI to optimise electricity flows. As these pilots prove effective, they can be scaled by MDBs and private investors. Strong government ownership and close collaboration, plus dissemination of lessons learned, ensure replication. Our report systematically measures impacts and case studies, attracting development players’ attention.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: Replication is vital—costs drop with repeated implementation as the model is proven. Every location needs customisation, but with a tested model, costs can fall.

Last report question: on data infrastructure and evidence. The report states data collection is often seen as compliance rather than strategic design. How are you restructuring data to ensure robust evidence generation from project inception?

WOOCHONG UM: Measuring impact should begin at project design, not as an afterthought. The monitoring and evaluation team must be involved from the start, identifying what to measure and therefore what data to collect. If data is considered only at the end, measurement is very difficult. Integrate monitoring and learning early, and it becomes easier to collect appropriate data and measure impact. Proper lessons learned can then inform future development.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: Especially important for small projects, as potential is often greatest with small and medium initiatives. Structuring data upfront is critical.

Finally, outlook questions: what are the biggest opportunities and challenges in Asia for accelerating energy transition and a just transition?

WOOCHONG UM: The biggest opportunity is the growing recognition by development partners of the critical role of philanthropies in providing both knowledge and funding. Much effort is required to aggregate philanthropic resources and ensure continued dialogue between philanthropies, governments, and multilaterals. In Southeast Asia, for instance, the ASEAN Power Grid programme is led by ASEAN governments, the ASEAN Secretariat, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank. We are collaborating to mobilise philanthropic knowledge and capital, hoping to leap forward in successful grid implementation—making energy access more affordable, stable, and efficient.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: And the biggest challenge?

WOOCHONG UM: The greatest challenge is for diverse partners to work together effectively. Within governments, ministries must cooperate for energy transition goals; among funders and philanthropies, everyone must recognise that collaboration is imperative. If that does not happen, status quo will persist, and declining development finance could mean insufficient resources for necessary work on the ground.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: As someone who has worked across Asia for over thirty years with ADB, I think there is more cooperation among Asian governments in 2025 compared to ten or twenty years ago. Does it feel like things are improving in terms of collaboration?

WOOCHONG UM: Yes, definitely. ADB was founded with the vision of fostering regional economic cooperation. In my previous role, I focused on this, especially in the Greater Mekong Subregion—Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and so on. There has been good cooperation on power trading. This began about thirty years ago, and after much discussion and negotiation, frameworks led to projects flowing. Now, in 2025, the ASEAN Power Grid is expanding based on lessons from Mekong to all ASEAN countries. Collaboration only happens if countries want it, but when there is sufficient will, development partners will always help. As long as strong country commitment continues, success is possible.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: Vietnam’s renewable energy story is a good example. When Vietnam announced its renewables ambitions, many were sceptical. Despite setbacks, Vietnam’s current position in renewables is astonishing compared to a decade ago.

One last question: what key takeaways would you like governments, investors, and other stakeholders to remember about the Global Energy Alliance’s mission and impact?

WOOCHONG UM: In 2025, the world has no choice but to work together. Public-private-philanthropic partnership must be globally recognised and actively fostered. I hope our mission succeeds so we continue to support Asian developing countries on a sustainable path.

JOSEPH JACOBELLI: That is fantastic. Woochong, thank you very much for your time and participation in the Asia Climate Finance Podcast. I am very grateful and enjoyed this conversation and the insights greatly. Let us catch up soon, perhaps on another podcast in a year or two and see how things are progressing.