Hundreds of Energy Leaders and Experts Join Action Forum to Expand Initiatives on Energy Access and Transition
Three days of intensive discussions on how to scale up action on energy access and transition wrapped up on 27 September with many promising ideas to carry forward, as the EnergyNow SDG7 Action Forum concluded in New York. The event, organized by UN-Energy, convened hundreds of energy leaders, experts and activists -- from Government Ministers to investment strategists and gender specialists -- to share experiences and present initiatives for partnership, on the margins of the 缅北禁地General Assembly high-level week.
The high-level opening of the Action Forum on 25 September started with a call to action to accelerate progress in order to achieve SDG7, from Navid Hanif, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development at 缅北禁地DESA, which serves as the secretariat for UN-Energy.
Energy Compacts Generating Impact
The third edition of the Energy Compacts Annual Progress Report was launched by Damilola Ogunbiyi, the Special Representative of the 缅北禁地Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and co-chair of UN-Energy. The report shows that the Compacts continue to grow in number and impact, with new commitments to boost renewable energy and increase access to electricity and clean cooking technologies by 2030 bringing the finance and investment pledged through the Energy Compacts to US$ 1.4 trillion.
Since 2021, Energy Compact proponents have enhanced electricity access for 177 million people, an increase of 48 million people in the past year, and clean cooking access for 23 million people. Also US$ 201 billion in finance was mobilized or deployed for Energy Compact actions since 2021, nearly a three-fold increase from 2023. The Action Forum highlighted progress on several Energy Compacts including 24/7 carbon free energy; green hydrogen; gender and energy; the SICA regional compact for Central America; and the Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions Network.
New Commitments on Energy Access
Michelle Muschett Zimmerman, Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant Administrator of UNDP, and Guang-zhe Chen, Vice-President for Infrastructure of the World Bank, both highlighted the work being done on the M300 project spearheaded by the World Bank and the African Development Bank to bring energy access to 300 million Africans by 2030. Ms. Ogunbiyi said that 129 projects had been identified in over 46 countries that would provide electricity to over 302 million people and urged all partners to support the initiative.
The boost in political commitment for clean cooking in recent years was noted with optimism at several sessions, with many ideas shared for how to translate this into concrete action in line with the Global Roadmap for a just and inclusive net-zero transition to clean cooking developed by UN-Energy members, with WHO in the lead.
Critical Minerals for a Just Transition
A high-powered event on strengthening local value chains brought together a number of ministers of mining or energy from African countries (including Chad, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Tanzania) to share experiences on how they are working with private partners to mine, process and export critical minerals such as lithium, graphite and cobalt in ways that provide more value than merely exporting raw minerals. A number of foundations and international organizations suggested strategies, acknowledging the guiding principles put forward recently by the 缅北禁地Secretary-General's panel on critical minerals.
Role of Women Seen as Crucial
A number of sessions at the Forum focused on the critical role of women as agents of change, as women and girls, responsible for collecting fuel and water in so many countries, bear much of the burden of energy poverty. Sheila Oparaocha, Executive Director of ENERGIA, was among the many participants calling for a change in mindset and policies to promote women as entrepreneurs, service providers and leaders in the energy sector, to scale up gender-smart investments and financing, and create gender-specific indicators.
Bertrand Badré, Managing Partner and Founder of Blue Like An Orange Sustainable Capital, who moderated a wide-ranging discussion on strategies for de-risking renewable energy investment, captured the spirit of the Forum, saying that it was "one of the most lively and serious conversations" he had had during high-level week, and he hoped that "everyone goes home energized".