International meeting on energy and development in Oslo

Energy is vital for development. Tomorrow, Norway will host an international high-level meeting on energy and the post-2015 development agenda.

The meeting will be opened by Crown Prince Haakon and chaired by Norwegian Minister of International Development Heikki Eidsvoll Holmås, Mexican Minister of Energy Pedro Joaquin Coldwell and Tanzanian Minister of Energy Sospeter Muhongo.

Mr Holmås commented, “1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity. Access to clean energy is crucial for global development. This high-level meeting is an important step towards ensuring that the issue of energy is addressed as effectively as possible in the future.”

Mr Holmås has recently returned from Tanzania, which, together with Mexico and Norway, is leading a global consultation process on sustainable energy. This forms part of the UN’s efforts to develop a new set of global development goals to replace the Millennium Development Goals, which expire in 2015.

Access to energy is often referred to as the “missing Millennium Development Goal” and is regarded as essential for achieving sustainable development. The purpose of the high-level meeting is to sum up the results of the various consultations that have been undertaken around the world, and formulate a set of recommendations, which will be submitted to the UN Secretary-General. 

“My aim is that this high-level meeting will help to ensure that energy is included as a separate global development goal in the post-2015 agenda,” said Mr Holmås.

Some 250 participants are expected to attend the meeting. These include representatives of government authorities, international organisations, civil society, the private sector and young people from a number of countries, as well as Dr Rajendra K. Patchauri who received the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007, Christian Friis Bach, Minister for Development Cooperation in Denmark, and Heidi Hautala, Minister for International Development in Finland.

Prior to the opening of the meeting, Mr Holmås and Crown Prince Haakon will meet young people from India, Tanzania and Mexico for a short discussion on energy in front of the art installation “Skriket fra naturen” (the scream from nature) on the Scandic Fornebu terrace at 08:45.

A press conference will be held at 10:15, and there will be opportunities for interviews at 16:30.

See the meeting website for more information.

Press contacts

Any enquiries about the conference or registration should be sent to Siri Bosheim: mobile phone +47 904 18 961 (sbos@mfa.no) or Ida Smith Kielland: mobile phone +47 957 24 199 (ida.smith.kielland@gyro.no)

For the Minister of International Development: Communications Adviser Svein Bæra: mobile phone +47 916 72 042.