United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)

Reorganized into its present form in 1997, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat assists countries around the world in agenda-setting and decision-making with the goal of meeting their economic, social and environmental challenges. It promotes and supports international cooperation to achieve its mission, i.e., to promote development for all.

Reorganized into its present form in 1997, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat assists countries around the world in agenda-setting and decision-making with the goal of meeting their economic, social and environmental challenges. It promotes and supports international cooperation to achieve its mission, i.e., to promote development for all. In providing a broad range of analytical products, policy advice, and technical assistance, UN DESA effectively translates global commitments in the economic, social and environmental spheres into national policies and actions and continues to play a key role in monitoring progress towards internationally agreed-upon development goals.

Energy at UN DESA

UN DESA’s work in the field of energy is undertaken in concert with the implementation of the sustainable development agenda, as outlined in Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI). The achievement of sustainable development requires the integration of economic, environmental and social components at all levels. UN DESA works in three main interconnected areas:

• UN DESA supports the intergovernmental process by facilitating the negotiations of member States in many intergovernmental bodies on joint courses of action to address ongoing or emerging global challenges, including those related to providing access to basic energy services: UN DESA promotes sustainable development as the substantive secretariat to the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) as well as by facilitating the negotiations between member States on resolutions on energy, like on the recently by the General Assembly adopted resolution on the promotion of new and renewable sources of energy (A/C.2/64/L.60). Moreover, UN DESA organizes Informal Briefings and Interactive Thematic Dialogues on Energy for Sustainable Development to provide a platform for information sharing and interactive discussion.
• UN DESA generates and analyses a wide range of economic, social, and environmental information on energy issues from which member States of the United Nations draw to review common problems and take stock of policy options: In 2009, UN DESA supported the drafting of the Secretary-General Report on the Promotion of New and Renewable Sources of Energy and published policy briefs on energy for sustainable development as well as the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) that is a joint product of UN DESA, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the five United Nations regional commissions.
• UN DESA advises interested governments on the ways and means for translating policy frameworks that were developed in United Nations conferences and summits into implementation at the country level and, through technical cooperation and capacity development: UN DESA is assisting developing countries in the implementation of energy access, renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. With the e8 network, which consists of major electric utilities in industrialized countries, UN DESA together with GEF is implementing a joint initiative on Financing Sustainable Electrification. Moreover, together with the Chinese Government UN DESA co-organized the Beijing High Level International Conference on Climate Change: Technology Development and Technology Transfer (7-8 November 2008) and the Delhi High Level International Conference on Climate Change: Technology Development and Transfer (22-23 October 2009) coorganized with the Indian Government.