WEC supports UN SE4ALL global tracking report

The World Energy Council’s formal support of the UN Secretary General’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative reached a major milestone last week with the release of the Global Tracking Framework report at the Vienna Energy Forum, organised by UNIDO, and in London.

 

 

The WEC is amongst the 15 agencies who compiled the report. The study was showcased at the WEC Executive Assembly in Monaco last November, where the first round of stakeholder consultations was launched. The report benefited from input from Dr Christoph Frei, WEC Secretary General, and Sandra Winkler, Head of Policies.

The report, co-authored by the World Bank and the International Energy Agency, provides a baseline to enable tracking of the success of the SE4ALL initiative. It also provides strategic guidance to the UN Secretary General, his High-Level Panel, and Kandeh Yumkella, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All.
This launch coincided with the release of the recommendations of the High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, which is co-chaired by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, and Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom. A new UN report outlines a new framework to build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which puts sustainable development at the core of the development agenda.

The UN High-Level Panel recognises the SE4ALL initiative has created “considerable momentum” in securing sustainable energy for the post-2015 development agenda. It also calls for fossil fuel subsidies to be reduced, which supports the messages of the WEC’s World Energy Trilemma study.

First stop: Vienna

At the Vienna Energy Forum Dr Frei addressed the opening plenary session for the three-day event (28–30 May). He told the audience of government and multi-lateral organisation leaders that political risk was one of the key inhibiters of investment especially in the context of the WEC’s energy trilemma metric: balancing the needs of energy security, social equity, and environmental impact mitigation. Dr Frei also spoke at high-level sessions organised by International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the International Peace Institute (IPI).

 

 

 

Dr Frei and Stuart Neil, Senior Director for External Affairs, also met with Kandeh Yumkella to discuss the next phase of the SE4ALL initiative and how the WEC can bring the business voice and actions to the process.

Stuart Neil said: “The SE4ALL initiative provides significant opportunities for the WEC’s membership to engage with what is becoming a key initiative for the international community. These opportunities will be key to what is discussed at the World Energy Congress especially on its fourth day.”

The fourth day (17 October) of the World Energy Congress will be centred on the Sustainable Energy for All initiative and topics related to its core goals of renewables, efficiency, and access.

Stuart Neil added: “WEC is at the centre of a significant shift in thinking on the global stage, with our Global Electricity Initiative and our Rules of Trade work having the potential to facilitate change and deliver a more sustainable energy system for the greatest benefit of all.”

Next: London

The report’s Vienna launch was followed by events in Brussels and London, with the WEC playing a key role at the London event on 31 May.

At the London event, held with the World Bank and Practical Action, another project partner and the event’s organiser, WEC Secretary General Dr Christoph Frei talked about the report’s context, adding that “governments would have to change and adapt their policies” in order to be able to achieve sustainable energy for all.

The World Bank’s Vivien Foster (read the interview here) and Practical Action’s CEO Simon Trace were the other panellists.

The report’s project team intends to showcase the report in more locations around the world.

Read highlights of the SE4ALL Global Tracking Framework and catch up on the launch in Vienna on: http://bit.ly/13X2pOm