Sustainable Energy for All Targets

Sustainable Energy for All is about driving actions and mobilizing commitments to positively transform the world's energy systems. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the SE4ALL initiative in 2011 with three objectives: ensuring universal access to modern energy services, and doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix, all by 2030.

The world faces two urgent and interconnected challenges related to energy, he noted. One is related to energy access. Nearly one person in five on the planet still lacks access to electricity. The other challenge is global warming: Emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from fossil fuels are contributing to changes in the Earth’s climate that are causing widespread harm to lives, communities, infrastructure, institutions and budgets. Climate change puts us all at risk, but it hurts the poor first – and worst. The key to both challenges is to provide sustainable energy for all – energy that is accessible, cleaner and more efficient.

High-Level Group identifies 11 Action Areas

The Secretary-General's High-Level Group on Sustainable Energy for All has created a Global Action Agenda to guide efforts undertaken in support of achieving the initiative's three objectives. It contains 11 Action Areas and provides a framework for identifying the high impact opportunities that will catalyze change and prompt innovation. Using this framework, countries and stakeholders can create their own pathways towards Sustainable Energy for All.

The Action Areas are grouped into two categories – sectoral and enabling. The seven sectoral Action Areas address both power generation and the principle sectors of energy consumption. They include:

• Modern Cooking Appliances & Fuels;
• Distributed Electricity Solutions;
• Grid Infrastructure & Supply Efficiency;
• Large Scale Renewable Power;
• Industrial & Agricultural Processes;
• Transportation;
• and Buildings & Appliances.

The four enabling Action Areas characterize cross-cutting mechanisms designed to support effective sectoral action and address existing obstacles. They include:

• Energy Planning & Policies;
• Business Model & Technology Innovation;
• Finance & Risk Management;
• Capacity Building & Knowledge Sharing.
  
  

Ten years to transform the world’s energy

Currently one out of five people lives without access to electricity, and nearly 40 per cent of the world’s population rely on wood, coal, charcoal or animal waste to cook their food, leading to over four million deaths a year, mostly women and children, from the effects of indoor smoke.

At the first annual Sustainable Energy for All Forum, the Secretary-General called on all SE4All partners to intensify their actions, so that the targets can be met. “Our common goal is in sight,” he said. “We have seen that solutions exist and that people are implementing them. I count on all actors here today to deliver new and expanded commitments and partnerships that will transform the global energy landscape. We have the responsibility, and we have the power.”

Source & compilation: se4all.org