Norway launches international energy and climate partnership

Norway launches an international energy and climate partnership in support of the UN Secretary-General’s initiative “Sustainable Energy for All”. The Partnership aims to ensure access to sustainable energy for all and avoid greenhouse gas emissions through the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency. 

In the presence of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations and other high-level representatives the new partnership, International Energy and Climate Initiative – Energy+, was launched by the Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg at a conference entitled “Energy for All: Financing Access for the Poor“.

The conference takes place in Oslo on 10-11 October and is co-hosted by Norway and the International Energy Agency (IEA).  

The International Energy and Climate Initiative – Energy+ is Norway’s contribution to the Secretary-General’s vision for universal energy access, a doubling of energy efficiency and a doubling of the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix by 2030.

"We need to build political momentum around the energy for all agenda. The 2012 International Year of Sustainable Energy for All and the Rio+20 summit in June 2012 present us with an historic opportunity”, says the Secretary-General.

The Secretary-General has invited leaders from business, government, international organizations and civil society to come together to develop clear actions for all to take – locally, nationally, regionally and globally.

Energy+ is inspired by the successful program to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). Through Energy+, developing countries’ efforts to transform the energy sector to achieve universal access to sustainable energy and decrease greenhouse gas emissions by scaling-up access to renewable energy sources and increased energy efficiency will be supported.

In turn, this will contribute to energy and job security, improved health, business opportunities for private investors and national economic growth.

"New energy investments must be results-based. We already have experiences from our support to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation that this creates the right incentives", says Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

Representatives from more than 60 countries, international organizations, business and civil society organisations take part in the conference.

Note to editor:
The following countries and organizations have formally declared the intention of becoming partners in the International Energy and Climate Initiative – Energy+ Partnership:

Kenya, Bhutan, Liberia, Ethiopia, Maldives, United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, the World Bank Group, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Energy Agency, World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Global Village Energy Partnership, United Nations Foundation.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations has launched the “Sustainable Energy for All” (SE4ALL) initiative. The initiative will seek to achieve the goal of Sustainable Energy for All by meeting three interlinked global targets by 2030:

• Achieving universal access to modern energy services;
• Improving energy efficiency by 40 per cent;
• Producing 30 per cent of the world’s energy from renewable resources.