High Level Meeting on Energy in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

After four months’ of discussions on energy and development around the world and in cyberspace, the Governments of Norway, Tanzania and Mexico convened the High Level Meeting on Energy in the Post-2015 Development Agenda in Oslo on 9 April 2013.

HRH Crown Prince Haakon opened the conference, and Minister of International Development Heikki Eidsvoll Holmås acted as host for the participants from civil society, academia, the private sector and representatives from a number of countries.

The backdrop for the High Level Meeting was the UN Millennium Development Goals, whose target date is 2015. In order to create a broad-based and inclusive process on the post-2015 development agenda, global consultations on 11 different topics were initiated.

Energy is one of these 11 topics. The High Level Meeting in Oslo summed up the energy consultations, which had taken place over a period of four months in the form of national, regional and global discussions on the Internet.

Achieving sustainable energy for all is an ambitious goal, but it is attainable. Improving access to energy, enhancing energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix are all approaches that can help us to achieve the goal. These approaches are also key elements of the Sustainable Energy For All (SE4All) initiative, launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The summary of the High Level Meeting shows that there is widespread agreement that energy plays a crucial role for development.  Energy has a bearing on challenges relating to poverty, food security, clean water, health, education, economic growth, youth’s and women’s rights, and climate change.  According to the recommendations from the meeting, energy must be integrated into the new development agenda. A global network was initiated, which will work in the lead-up to the UN General Assembly in 2015 to ensure that this happens.

The recommendations from the High Level Meeting will be presented to the UN High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, which in turn will submit recommendations to the UN Secretary-General on a new development agenda post-2015.  

The summary of the High Level Meeting, as well as of the energy consultation process as a whole, can be found here.