MADRID, Spain (CMC) — Three Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries are to benefit from a new Global Environment Facility (GEF) global e-mobility programme that has been launched at the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25).

The programme is expected to help an initial set of 17 developing countries deploy electric vehicles at scale, in support of improved air quality and reduced fossil fuel dependency.

The new US$33 million programme, launched in Madrid in coordination with the European Commission’s new e-mobility solutions plus project, represents the first global, coordinated effort to promote and accelerate the uptake of electric mobility in developing countries.

Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica and St Lucia are among the initial countries that will participate in the programme that also includes Armenia, Burundi, Chile, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, India, Madagascar, Maldives, Peru, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Togo, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

The programme will help governments establish supportive policies to enable technology transfer, private sector engagement, and access to commercial finance for the introduction of fleets of electric buses, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, trucks, light duty vehicles and private vehicles.

It will also create three regional platforms to support the transition to electric mobility in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean. This work will be closely tied to the GEF sustainable cities impact programme.

“Globally, there will be twice as many vehicles on the road by 2050, with nearly all of the projected growth taking place in developing countries where air pollution is already a major challenge in many cities,” said Gustavo Fonseca, GEF director of programmes.

“We see tremendous benefit from governments opting to phase out internal combustion engines, both in terms of lower emissions and improved quality of life. The GEF is delighted to help create scale for such efforts through this programme.”

Beyond the GEF financing, the e-mobility programme is set to leverage more than US$400 million in co-financing, including from the European Commission, the Asian Development Bank, and several other national institutions, international financial and philanthropic organisations, and the private sector.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) will implement the programme in partnership with the International Energy Agency (IEA).

UNEP’s head of air quality and mobility Rob de Jong said recent reports from the IPCC and the UNEP Emissions Gap Report have shown that without a worldwide switch to a zero emissions electric fleet, “we will not meet the Paris Climate targets”.

“We need a global approach, and all countries need to start their switch now. As one of the global leaders in supporting a global switch to electric mobility, UNEP is very pleased that the GEF and the European Commission have made this one of their priorities; we look forward to working with them, and others, to support this global transformation.”