 |
|
Delivering on Energy
It is clear that energy is central to sustainable development and is intrinsically linked to a number of major global challenges such as poverty, security and climate change. The current energy landscape, however, is inadequate for fully addressing those issues. Profound changes are required in the way our society produces and transforms energy—nothing short of a paradigm shift is required. Today, a sizable share of the world’s population lacks access to modern energy services. As an example, an estimated 1.5 billion people live without access to electricity.
Today, a sizable share of the world’s population lacks access to modern energy services. As an example, an estimated 1.5 billion people live without access to electricity. Energy is present in many aspects of human development due to the wide array of services it delivers in the form of light, mechanical power, process heat, space heating, motive power for transport, water pumping, etc. Access to modern energy services is therefore paramount for accelerating the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and moving toward sustainable wealth creation. Continuously rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions pose a significant threat to the global climate system, with the effects of climate change already hitting the poor the hardest. The current system of carbonintensive energy, combined with the expected significant growth in energy demand in the next few decades—especially in the developing world—requires a broad-based energy transition if climate change impacts are to be restrained to manageable levels.
Although the challenges ahead may seem daunting, there are significant opportunities as well. A large, untapped potential for renewable energy is available in most regions of the world. Also, the provision of clean, affordable modern energy services to underprivileged communities comes with significant co-benefits, notably in terms of health improvements as well as the opening of untapped new markets. In addition, energy efficiency policies and measures offer ready-to-deploy instruments to curb energy demand in a cost-effective fashion.
There are clear signs that the process of transition has already begun and that some of these opportunities are being seized, as illustrated by the four-fold increase in global clean energy investments from US$ 36 billion in 2004 to an estimated US$ 145 billion in 2009.2 Following the same trend, energy spending from multilateral organizations also surged during the past few years. For instance, the World Bank has increased its lending for low-carbon projects and energy access six-fold since 2004 to US$ 5.5 billion in 2009, and UNDP has almost doubled its funding to energy projects compared to the previous decade.
Enhanced international cooperation is central to assuring the required energy transition. Despite its significant capacity to raise awareness, bring stakeholders together and galvanize international action, until recently the United Nations had not been able to fully leverage its strengths and leadership potential in the field of energy. In response, UN-Energy was established as an inter-agency mechanism to promote coherence in the United Nations System’s response to energy challenges.
UN-Energy is making a significant effort to ensure that the United Nations system, together with the World Bank and the GEF, contribute to areas where strategic interventions will have major impacts. It focuses on substantive and collaborative actions related to policy development and their associated implementation through networking, joint programming and the establishment of partnerships. While UN-Energy will continue to play a key and growing role, additional efforts will still be required to elevate the role of the United Nations system in the global energy space and to spur global action towards a low-carbon economy. This publication provides a snapshot of the impressive body of work produced under the UN-Energy umbrella and by its members during the past biennium (2008-2009). The report offers a non-comprehensive compilation of energy-related programmes and selected projects, as well as a collection of relevant publications. It showcases joint undertakings and collaborative efforts.
Figure 1 illustrates the programme distribution outlined in this document by programme type and subject area, with cross-cutting programmes being shown under all programme types and subject areas they cover.
