Dean Emeritus Richard Ottinger comments on an announcement from the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative, which will be holding a High Level Side Event today:
It is very encouraging to see that countries are making significant new contributions to assist developing countries with renewable energy development. The environmental community salutes the contributors for making this important commitment, even in this time of global economic hardship. I hope many other countries, including our own, follow this example.
Here’s the announcement:
New Sustainable Energy for All Commitments Made at Rio+20
18 June 2012: Numerous new commitments to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative have been made by governments, private sector and civil society at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).
Specifically, these commitments include: a Ghanaian plan to develop a national energy action plan to support capacity development and innovative financing; a pledge by Barbados to increase its renewable energy use to 29% of all energy consumption by 2029; the European Commission’s “Energizing Development” initiative, which will provide over 500 million people with access to sustainable energy services by 2030, and create a Technical Assistance facility; UN Foundation work facilitating civil society collaboration on energy service delivery and electrification via the Energy Access Practitioner Network; as well as GDF Suez, d.Light Design commitments on increasing energy efficiency, renewable energy capacity and providing solar lamps; and rock band Linkin Park’s launch of its “Power the World” campaign.
Charles Holliday, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Bank of America and Co-Chair of the High-level Group on SE4ALL, said “These commitments demonstrate that we can make tremendous progress when all key stakeholders – developed and developing countries, private companies and civil
society groups – work together in common cause for the common good.”
The SE4LL Initiative aims to achieve sustainable energy for all by 2030 through: ensuring universal access to modern energy services, doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency, and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
[See the full SE4ALL Press Release]