ENERGY COMPACT REGISTRATION PROCESS LAUNCHED

AS MOMENTUM BUILDS FOR HIGH-LEVEL DIALOGUE 

Global Call to Submit Compacts Now, to Ensure Registration by September Summit

The impact generated at the Ministerial Thematic Forums in June has continued to expand in ever-widening circles, as the 50 Ministers and 1500 participants have set about mobilizing and solidifying further Energy Compact commitments in their own areas, for announcement at the September High-level Dialogue. 

The process for officially registering Energy Compacts was launched this week, with all information presented on a new dedicated website.  Governments, businesses, cities, international organizations and others wanting to register their Compact are invited to submit details in an email form. These will then be reviewed  according to the guiding principles and criteria for Energy Compacts, before being registered on the website. UN-Energy provides support for the Energy Compact process.

All those interested are encouraged to send in their Energy Compact as soon as possible, at the latest by 31 August, in order to ensure that their submission is reviewed and registered in time to be given visibility at the High-level Dialogue in September.

To make your SDG 7 commitment and register your Energy Compact, visit the submission guidelines.

Further information and guidance can be obtained by contacting
un-energycompact@un.org

WORKING GROUP REPORTS GUIDE ENERGY COMMITMENTS
FOR 2030 AND BEYOND
 

Advancing SDG7 is not only about providing every human being on this planet with access to energy services, but it can also boost the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and make net-zero emissions by 2050 possible. However, current progress is much too slow to achieve this. What actions are required to get on track? What are the specific steps on this pathway and by when do they need to be taken? 

In an unprecedented global effort, the Secretariat of the High-level Dialogue assembled over 160 distinguished experts on energy and related issues from all sectors to provide answers to these questions. Divided into 5 Technical Working Groups – each led by 3-4 intergovernmental organizations with outstanding capacity in the respective issue area – the experts elaborated policy recommendations on the five Dialogue themes.

These recommendations are captured in the respective Theme Report that each of the Working Groups produced. Together, these five Reports will provide the foundation for the discussions at the High-level Dialogue on Energy, laying out a set of signposts for a Global Roadmap towards Achieving SDG7 by 2030 and Net-zero Emissions by 2050. They provide policy guidance based on scientific evidence and the collective expertise of some of the brightest minds on these subjects. Each report highlights around 10 policy recommendations. 

The Theme Report on Energy Access, makes clear, for example, that it is necessary to prioritize and coordinate political commitments and financing to accelerate access to clean cooking, building synergies with electrification efforts. Moreover, enterprises must be supported with innovative, cost-effective and scalable energy access business models so that delivery of clean cooking and electricity solutions can be accelerated to households, businesses and community facilities.

The Theme Report on Energy Transition establishes a recommended target of rapidly scaling  up  deployment  of  available energy  transition  solutions  to  reach  8000  GW  of  renewables by 2030, with due consideration to different contributions by individual countries. In addition, it calls on OECD countries to phase out coal by 2030 and redirect international energy financing towards the transition. Non-OECD countries should phase out coal by 2040.

The Theme Report on Enabling SDGs Through Inclusive, Just Energy Transitions urges every country and region to integrate achievement of the SDGs as a guiding framework into the planning and implementation of  their  own transition  pathways towardsclean  and  sustainable  energy. It also suggests the integration of an Energy for SDGs Impact Framework into energy transition strategies in order to track progress across the board.

The Theme Report on Innovation, Technology and Data highlights that progress in this area is a matter of addressing both supply of and demand for energy technology and innovation. In particular, digitalization must be leveraged for innovation, while addressing the digital divide, and the collection, management and application of data and data systems must be improved.

The Theme Report on Finance and Investment notes that tripling worldwide investment in clean energy and energy efficiency over the next ten years, in order to put the world on track for net-zero emissions by 2050, will require, among other measures, correcting market-distorting subsidies and addressing the lack of carbon-pricing frameworks and inadequate accounting of environmental externalities that hold back sustainable investment.

To obtain the full picture on the way forward, we invite you to read the Theme Reports in detail. Each Report contains more crucial policy recommendations, along with pertinent information on the respective issue areas.

SIDE EVENTS AT HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM PUT SPOTLIGHT
 ON SDG 7 AND LINKAGES WITH ALL GOALS
 

The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, held virtually from 6-15 July, presented the perfect opportunity to engage the broader SDG community in the mobilization behind SDG 7 this year.  A number of side events were organized to highlight crucial aspects of SDG 7 and how clean, affordable energy for all is key to achieving so many of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Clean Cooking. Solutions to the stubborn challenge of clean cooking were debated at a panel discussion on a “Call to Action: Principles for Priority Action on Clean Cooking for All”, held on 8 July as a side event to the HLPF, co-sponsored by Kenya, Malawi and the Netherlands as Global Champions on energy access for the High-level Dialogue. Despite decades of efforts, little progress has been made on bringing down the numbers of people (now 2.6 billion) cooking with dirty fuels that produce emissions and kill 4 million each year from indoor smoke. Calls were made for greater investment at all levels, including for the Clean Cooking Fund managed by the World Bank, which started with $500 million aiming to catalyze $2 billion. Some argued that national strategies should focus on investments in sustainable business models rather than subsidies for LPG that could not be continued indefinitely; others felt that smart, targeted subsidies – such as cash transfers to poor women -- were needed.  Getting top national leadership to talk about the problem was considered key.  Read More.

Energy, Water & Climate. On 12 July, a side event was held on "Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions Addressing Climate Change during the Decade of Action".  In preparation for the upcoming High-level Dialogue on Energy, the event served as a platform to discuss the multiple synergies that can be achieved through an integrated approach to the three issues, and how understanding and acting on this relationship is key to achieving the objectives of the SDGs on energy as well as water and climate change. In attendance were several world experts who discussed sustainable water and energy solutions related to hydropower, water supply management, bioenergy, desalination using renewable energy, and green hydrogen, among others.  Experts also acknowledged the importance of implementing an integrated and sustainable management of terrestrial and water ecosystems.  More information about this event, which was organized by the Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions Network, can be found here. 

SDG 7 Policy Briefs on Interlinkages. On 13 July, the Permanent Mission of Norway in cooperation with UN DESA hosted a side event at the HLPF on the SDG 7 Policy Briefs 2021. The Briefs are compiled annually by the multi-stakeholder SDG7 Technical Advisory Group, composed of 40 experts from Governments, UN and international organizations, and other stakeholders. This year, the Policy Briefs place a special focus on the interlinkages of SDG7 with all other SDGs, highlighting that decisive action on sustainable energy can catalyze progress towards all the other SDGs, as well as towards global climate protection targets. The side event, which was attended by over 80 participants, featured a presentation and discussion of the SDG7 Policy Briefs, including interventions from nine members of the SDG7 Technical Advisory Group.

Clean Energy in Africa.  As part of the SDG Media Zone, organized by the UN Department of Global Communications during the HLPF, Dialogue Co-Chair Damilola Ogunbiyi was interviewed on clean energy in Africa. From cooking fuel alternatives to solar power innovations, many Africans are rising to the challenge of solving age-old issues across the continent, while carving a clear path to a sustainable future.

Watch the video interview 
 

HLDE CO-CHAIR HOLDS FRUITFUL TALKS IN UAE 

Dialogue Co-Chair Damilola Ogunbiyi travelled to the United Arab Emirates, a very active Champion country for the High-level Dialogue, accompanied by Minoru Takada, Team Leader, HLDE Secretariat/ UN DESA, and other staff. The team held fruitful meetings and field visits from 28 June to 2 July, to discuss the UAE’s latest innovations in sustainable energy and the leadership role they aim to play.