The Clean Energy Solutions Center is the latest collaborative effort between the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and UN-Energy. It builds upon a long standing distinctive partnership that has already produced two specialized solutions to tackle the challenges of moving to a low carbon energy economy. The two former projects are: Low Emission Development Strategies (LEDS) Gateway a tool supporting the design and implementation of country-driven, analytically rigorous low emission development strategies, and The Coordinated Low Emissions Assistance Network (CLEAN) a site whose goal is improving the coordination between organizations that are assisting developing nations with the preparation and implementation of comprehensive low greenhouse gas (GHG) emission development strategies.

The new web based platform is administered by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and offers a wide cache of tools to assist in the transition to a global green economy. Amongst the offerings are: expert assistance, policy best practices, analysis tools across countries, training and web seminars. The site was initially unveiled on April 6, 2011 to ministers from major world economies, as part of the second meeting of the CEM, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Clean Energy Solutions Center aids in advancing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and as such promotes a sustainable and inclusive future. In August this year United Nations’ Secretary General Ban Ki Moon visited NREL in Colorado, where he announced the multi-lateral partnership between UN-Energy, NREL and the CEM that has led to the creation of this next generation green development toolset.

The Clean energy Solutions Center
CLEAN
LEDS

The understanding and proliferation of bioenergy has shown immense growth over the past decades, and currently supplies 14 percent of the global energy portfolio. This trend will most likely continue upwards as future projections indicate, for the generation of electricity and provision of energy for heating, cooking and transportation. In a development context, and coinciding with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), bioenergy promises to deliver towards energy security, improved livelihoods through access to energy (particularly in off- grid areas), and economic development opportunities fitting within a low-carbon development strategy. However, these potentials and benefits come with certain caveats, not the least of which are of a social and an environmental nature. Potential threats to water, food security, biodiversity and indigenous land stewardship need to be mitigated and respective rights and safeguards negotiated and adequately planned for. Additionally, climate benefits do not necessarily materialize if greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts are not assessed throughout the entire life-cycle from seed to use, including impacts from land-use change.

In order to guarantee that the advantages of modern bioenergy solutions are met while mitigating any possible harm, policy-makers need appropriate analytical tools to aid in their planning and implementation. Thus, the understanding of potential trade-offs is critical. Responding to this need, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have collaborated under the framework of UN-Energy to produce the Decision Support Tool for Sustainable Bioenergy (DST) as an instrument for policy makers to understand and respond to these trade-offs.

With the DST, UN-Energy proposes a responsible decision-making framework that portrays risks and benefits in a transparent and effective manner. The DST helps to deliver the three significant goals of:

• Ensuring universal access to clean energy
• Reducing global energy intensity; and
• Increasing renewable energy use

The new tool leverages existing experience, and research which can be adapted to the specific needs of all countries. The DST also provides guidance for both strategy formulation and the investment decision-making process. In terms of resources, it provides a comprehensive set of instruments that are made up of technical resources, links to additional tools, analysis, guidelines and informational materials as well as detailed case studies.

Comprehensive planning is a critical cornerstone if bioenergy is to contribute to building a Green Economy. If planned within the framework of a Green Economy and sustainability, bioenergy can be used as an instrument for economic development, poverty reduction, GHG reduction and energy security. The DST helps countries move in this direction, from ideas to action.

Bioenergy Decision Support Tool Site

The UN System, with its many specialized agencies and intergovernmental bodies, should be a catalyst for action. We cannot hope to reach the Millennium Development Goals if we do not, at the same time, address the issue of energy access. Nowadays, over three billion people still rely on traditional biomass and coal for cooking and heating, and about one and a half billion people still have no access to electricity, not to mention the millions of poor people who, even when energy services are available, are unable to pay for them. This is unacceptable.

We must use the huge convening power of the UN System to enhance political will, mobilize resources to reach universal energy access and make a difference on the ground. The General Assembly took an important step in this direction when it adopted Resolution 65/151 in December 2010 designating 2012 as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. The Resolution calls for dedicated policies and measures at national and international levels, including technology transfer and capacity-building. What is now required is to live up to the goals of the Resolution, to maintain the political focus on energy access and monitor results.

Green economy is to be seen as a tool for reaching sustainable development and an economic model that is more respectful of environmental resources. Green economy requires both a change in our consumption and our production patterns in order to decouple economic growth from the excessive use of fossil energies and non renewable resources. But many poor countries fear that green economy will be imposed upon them as a kind of new conditionality and will thus prevent them from reaching the same level of development as more advanced countries.

It is essential to show that green economy offers opportunities for new activities and for job creation, and that it is not a threat for development. We have to better inform about success stories, because there are already many examples of green economy that are implemented, in poor and rich countries alike. I organized an informal thematic debate at the General Assembly in June this year to get to a better understanding of green economy and its potential as a pathway to sustainable development.

The transition to a low-carbon economy implies that the right incentives are in place. We will have to avoid green protectionism and other distorting measures. Harmful subsidies, like fossil fuel subsidies, will have to be eliminated.

Most environmental issues, like climate change, biodiversity, nuclear security, require global answers. A major difficulty to garner support for collective responses is that, in the short term, the costs of environmental degradation seem diffuse whereas action to preserve the environment implies immediate cost. In the past entire civilizations collapsed because of poor environmental behavior. And the longer we wait, the more difficult and the costlier it will be to address these challenges. Therefore, it is urgent that we go beyond short term national interests and forge solutions for the greater good.

Progress is possible: we saw it in 2010 in Nagoya with the agreement reached by the international community on biodiversity. The Cancun Summit also marked progress on the climate change negotiations. I hope that Durban will confirm this trend.

It seems to me that global environmental governance remains rather ad hoc at this stage, with quite a complex architecture of agencies, conventions, programs with at times overlapping mandates. There is probably room for consolidation and better coordination among entities. What we need is a global environmental governance system to build consensus, to shape and implement the collective answers. If lessons are to be drawn from other sectors, such as economic governance, it is essential to have a system that combines leadership, expertise and legitimacy and ensures coherence in decision-making.

A two day ministerial conference was held in Johannesburg on the 15-16 of September 2011. The gathering was hosted by the government of the Republic of South Africa with endorsement of the African Union (AU). The event was supported by The World Bank Group, UNIDO/UN-Energy and brought together ministers from over 40 African countries. Accentuating the particular regional needs was at the top of the agenda; Specifically the issues of increased access to modern energy sources, environmental and climate change vulnerabilities, inter-regional cooperation and the development of national energy plans for robustness of scale and maximum flexibility.

The event signifies a unique opportunity that brings about a commitment and focus to secure Africa’s energy future built upon the cornerstones of inclusivity and sustainability. Speaking at the conference in a capacity of master of ceremony, UNIDO’s Director General and UN-Energy’s Chair, Kandeh K. Yumkella said: “We cannot solve climate change without an energy revolution - they are interconnected. Although both are often portrayed in terms of challenges, there are also huge opportunities for Africa's economy and its people.” The keynote speaker at an associated event to the conference was Michael Liebreich, CEO of Bloomberg Energy Finance. Mr. Liebreich is also a member of the UN’s High Level Group for the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative. A side event was also held on September 14, which was comprised of a one day workshop which included substantive presentations by energy experts. Among other topics, the workshop disseminated knowledge relating to: capacity building, technology needs assessment, energy efficiency strategies and project preparation for finance.

The conference led to the adoption of the Johannesburg Declaration diagnosing an array of factors that will drive the development of an energy agenda for the region. A significant aspect of the declaration is a list of integral energy infrastructure projects

Workshop Link
Johannesburg Declaration Link