Africa is falling behind in getting necessary funds for renewable energy because development banks are not assuming the political risk of working there, United Nations officials said. Banks must provide more guarantees that investors' projects won't suffer due to political or legal changes in the continent's poorest countries, according to Mohamed El-Ashry, a senior fellow at the United Nations Foundation. "Public private partnerships are not working because of too much risk on the private investors," he said at the World Future Energy Summit. African projects had about $4.3 billion of the $268.7 billion invested worldwide in renewable energy last year as Africa struggles to attract projects that would provide electricity to poor communities while limiting fossil fuel consumption. Additionally, 28 of the 36 projects were in South Africa. Paul Kloppenborg, chief executive of Amsterdam-based Global Cleantech Fund, said that providing insurance against government or regulatory changes would add needed confidence for investors. For the full story, see http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-17/africa-renewable-energy-push-not-working-due-to-risks.html.