although progress has been made in the last few years and despite largescale deployment of renewables the share of renewables in the energy mix remains low exacerbating continued air pollution problems across the region and putting stress on emerging economies as a result of fluctuations in oil prices furthermore the rate of energy efficiency uptake still needs to be accelerated in order to unlock the immense crosssectoral benefits financial barriers are of particular concern as energy transition strategies require vast sums of investment in order to bridge this financing gap governments need to leverage funds for increased privatesector investment which requires more stability and predictability in policymaking and the introduction of financing tools that help manage the often high investment risk