UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) is an over £200m, multi-year programme supporting 14 country funds and two regional funds to accelerate their low-carbon development.

UK PACT is jointly governed and funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Its strategically managed funds provide grants for capacity-building projects that support long-term climate action.  

We’re bringing Arup’s understanding of the local political landscape, our technical expertise and our local presence to the role of fund manager for UK PACT in India, Thailand and Vietnam. Working as part of a consortium with Palladium International and Social Development Direct, we manage, support, procure, implement and enable low-carbon projects across energy, urban mobility, industry, nature and climate finance. 

Economic growth can go hand-in-hand with carbon reduction. UK PACT builds the capacity of partner countries and works with them to accelerate their transition by removing the barriers to clean, inclusive growth using new knowledge and partnerships.

The programme’s aims align with Arup’s own purpose – creating safe, resilient, and regenerative places that enable current and future generations to thrive.

Supporting Vietnam’s transition to renewable energy

In Vietnam, we are working across two priority sectors: clean energy and green finance. Clean energy has three key pillars, which are electricity grid management, the transition away from coal power, and offshore wind. Across these focus areas we manage the fund and plan activities.

As the fund manager, we undertake good practice governance, help develop the fund strategy, and offer advice from our technical experts in each sector. We are developing an implementation plan, which sets out the activities that will receive funding and the mechanisms for this. Arup trains and supports implementing partners, including local organisations. We report on progress quarterly, holding meetings with FCDO staff in the UK and Vietnam to ensure the programme is achieving their goals. 

To plan activities, our experts assess to what extent potential activities will meet the fund’s objectives and their likely impact. For approved activities, we develop the terms of reference, consulting FCDO throughout to agree on aims, objectives, outputs and the budget. 

Arup has also provided direct technical assistance. With Vietnam’s energy sector generating almost two-thirds of the country’s total emissions, the priority is to shift a significant proportion of electricity production from coal to renewables. But maintaining a secure supply requires technological change.

Experts from our Singapore and UK offices trained teams from the Vietnamese grid operator, NSMO, on adapting the electricity grid for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power. This will enable the network to use more renewable energy. In addition, teams from our Hong Kong and Singapore offices have been analysing how Vietnam can transition away from coal-fired power stations. 

Arup’s energy experts were able to rapidly turn FCDO’s early ideas into tangible, high-impact, interventions to set the pipeline for energy work in India.

Nicola Millen

UK PACT FCDO country lead for India

Collaborating on carbon reduction interventions in Thailand

In Thailand, Arup developed the terms of reference for the UK PACT programme. Thailand’s transport sector accounts for 20% of the country’s emissions, with road transport contributing 97% of that. Bangkok relies heavily on private and traditional carbon-fuelled vehicles and suffers from severe congestion. As the fund manager, Arup works closely with Thailand’s Office for Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP), within the Ministry of Transport, to develop more sustainable solutions. 

To achieve this, we are overseeing direct implementation delivered by several implementing partners. This includes social behaviour change communications (SBCC), re-routing and transport planning to reduce air pollution, and developing policies and workforce to achieve an inclusive transition to lower carbon transport. 

Arup has also provided technical support. One policy option under consideration a congestion charge in Bangkok’s busy city centre, and the Thai government asked us to provide technical support in evaluating and assessing the options.

Our urban mobility experts carried out a feasibility study and explored the potential impact of a congestion charge. Drawing on expertise gained advising on similar schemes in London and elsewhere, we have contributed to the development of Thailand’s first-ever congestion charging scheme.  

Ensuring projects align with India’s climate goals and net zero ambition

In India’s fast-growing economy, the UK PACT programme focuses on three key sectors. These are decarbonising and modernising the energy grid, climate-informed and data-driven urban planning and mobility, and developing a certification platform for scaling agroforestry.

Working with the FCDO, Palladium and technical advisers, Arup produced a scope of work that aligns with India’s climate goals. We manage the selection and appointment of the implementing partners and support work with the government counterpart to ensure the outputs will advance India’s climate journey. This ensures that projects are localised, and that they enhance governance and strengthen the institutional mechanisms that foster low-carbon development.

Our technical expertise has been invaluable to the programme, particularly in energy, as UK PACT supports India’s government to modernise its grid so it can reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Arup is providing technical support and quality assurance on a range of energy projects including undersea interconnectors, carbon markets, offshore wind, long-duration energy storage, grid modernisation and battery storage to accelerate greening the grid in India and cut carbon dioxide emissions.

We’re also making the programme more robust through a new, dedicated project management office to strengthen quality assurance and quality control, ensuring outputs meet the highest standards of accuracy, consistency and compliance. 

A flexible, demand-driven approach to climate action and reducing carbon footprints

By bringing together our experience in major international development projects and our specialist technical expertise, we are helping Vietnam, Thailand and India to achieve their climate ambitions.

Elsewhere, we have also provided support across the wider UK PACT programme, particularly to the South Africa fund. And Arup has taken a regional, pan-Asia role in communications and in grant management.

In each country, our teams take time to understand the goals of the different governments and ministries. We develop KPIs that track progress against their goals, ensuring that UK PACT will make a measurable difference to people around the world. 

Partners & collaborators

Social Development Direct