The Moving Energy Initiative

Without safe and reliable access to energy, it is impossible to meet the basic needs of life.

Energy is needed for cooking and lighting as well as for heating and cooling homes, communities, clinics and schools. Energy is also required for enterprise, communication and mobility. Yet for most refugees energy is expensive, dirty and dangerous.

The Moving Energy Initiative (MEI) is the first international partnership working to change this.

We do so by sharing insightful and policy-relevant research, encouraging learning from innovative on-the-ground projects and investing in partner organizations that provide sustainable solutions.

The Moving Energy Initiative (MEI) is working to achieve access to clean, affordable and reliable energy among displaced populations by:

 

Working with humanitarian agencies and donors to change policies and practices based on evidence from practical projects;

Working with the private sector to design and implement innovative market-based solutions;

Improving the evidence base through original research and the demonstration of new approaches tried and tested in camps and host communities;

Cooperating with host governments and national NGOs to improve energy security among both local and refugee communities.

The MEI is a collaboration between Energy 4 Impact, Chatham House, Practical Action, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

The MEI is a consortium of world-class organizations. Each partner brings significant expertise, a track record of impact and influence, as well as networks from across the energy and humanitarian sectors.

Chatham House is an independent policy research institute based in the United Kingdom. Building on its history of policy expertise, Chatham House translates the country level findings into policy-relevant recommendations. It leads on research, stakeholder engagement, advocacy and communications.

Energy 4 Impact, E4I, is a not-for-profit organization working towards energy access in Africa, with offices in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Senegal and the United Kingdom. E4I leads on the implementation of the current portfolio of MEI field projects with particular focus on work in Kenya.

Practical Action is an international NGO tackling poverty in developing countries. It has offices in Bangladesh, eastern Africa, Latin America, South Asia, southern Africa, Sudan, the US and western Africa. Practical Action are the lead partner in Burkina Faso.

The Norwegian Refugee Council, the NRC, is one of the world’s largest independent humanitarian organizations and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is the UN organization dedicated to humanitarian issues. Together they provide insight from the humanitarian sector, informing the MEI’s approach and shaping the research and recommendations so they are directly relevant for adoption at a practical and systemic level.

The UK government’s UKAid is a world leader in aid delivery and policy and is the lead funder of the work of the MEI.

Visit the website at https://mei.chathamhouse.org

Energy Access for Refugees Visualisation https://mei.chathamhouse.org/hdx-visualisation