Sustainable Energy for All
2012 has been designated as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All.
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the specific initiative "Sustainable Energy for All" (SE4ALL) in September 2011, in recognition of the importance of access to sustainable energy for economic development and for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
This initiative will attract global attention to the importance of energy for development and poverty alleviation and will call for private sector as well as national commitments. The goal is to meet three objectives by 2030:
• Ensuring universal access to modern energy services.
• Doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
• Doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
With the Rio+20 conference, 2012 provides the opportunity to highlight that a sustainable energy-pathway is key for sustained and climate-resilient development, both in developing and industrialised countries.
2012 also gives us the opportunity to proudly celebrate the 10th anniversary of the EU Energy Initiative for Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development (EUEI) which the Member States and the Commission launched in 2002 at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. The EUEI has led to a considerable increase in the spending in this field since its launch, and has achieved synergies in energy cooperation with developing countries.
Andris Piebalgs, Commissioner for Development Cooperation, has accepted the invitation by the UN Secretary-General to participate in the High Level Group steering the initiative, as well as to lead the Task Force on Country Action for Universal Access.
For More information on SE4ALL, please follow the ling below: http://sustainableenergyforall.org/
