UK Export Finance (UKEF) has unveiled a series of initiatives to boost sustainable trade financing as world leaders gather in Belém, Brazil, for the COP30 summit, marking a deepening of UK-Brazil economic cooperation in the clean energy sector.

The government’s export credit agency has signed a reinsurance agreement with Brazil’s Agência Brasileira Gestora de Fundos Garantidores e Garantias (ABGF) – the first such arrangement ABGF has concluded with another export credit agency. The agreement will enable Brazilian exports containing British content to benefit from UKEF-backed guarantees, unlocking collaboration opportunities in energy transition and infrastructure projects.

UKEF has also mobilised new financial support for Hampshire-based Hive Energy through HSBC UK, backed by the agency’s General Export Facility. Hive Energy will use the financing to scale up solar power projects across Europe, North America, the Caribbean, South America, and Africa. The company has completed 60 solar projects to date, generating 3,066 megawatts of clean energy worldwide.

Additionally, UKEF will publish the first progress report of the Net Zero Export Credit Alliance on 14 November. The alliance, which UKEF has chaired since its launch at COP28, comprises export credit agencies from nine countries working to align $338 billion of export support with pathways to net-zero by 2050.

“Public finance organisations like UKEF and other export credit agencies are vital to deliver sustainable international trade,” said Tim Reid, chief executive of UK Export Finance. “We’re proud to continue supporting British businesses like Hive Energy, which reinforce the UK’s position as a leader in the global transition to clean energy.”

UKEF has set a target to provide £10 billion of clean growth finance by 2029, supporting the government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower and achieve at least 95% clean power by 2030.

The UKEF-ABGF agreement comes as UK-Brazil trade relations have strengthened in recent years, with both nations seeking to deepen cooperation on climate finance and renewable energy. Brazil is hosting COP30 in Belém, in the heart of the Amazon region; commitment to financing clean infrastructure is made more poignant given the emphasis on sustainable development and forest preservation, which Belém requires.

The reinsurance arrangement could serve as a template for similar agreements between export credit agencies, accelerating the flow of capital towards sustainable projects in emerging markets.