MediaGlobal interview with Dr. Kandeh Yumkella: Energy is “the ultimate enabler”

UNITED NATIONS, UNEARTH News—On Sept. 23, in an address during the high-level forum on Millenium Development Goal (MDG) success at the United Nations General Assembly, Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, Special Representative and CEO to the Secretary-General’s High-Level Group on Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) initiative and the Chair of UN-Energy, described energy as “the ultimate enabler.” Speaking exclusively with UNEARTH News, Yumkella discussed the collective declaration on working toward sustainable energy goals, from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to the European Union. He further outlined sustainable energy under the three targets of SEforALL: achieving universal access to energy by 2030; doubling the annual rate of improvement of energy efficiency by 2030; doubling the share of renewable energy mix by 2030.

An estimated 4 million premature deaths occur every year due to indoor air pollution from the use of biomass (e.g., charcoal, firewood, and cow dung), most of them women and children. Yumkella explains that is mainly due to traditional biomass use for cooking and heating, largely in developing countries, particularly LDCs. The number of resulting deaths are comparatively “double [those of] HIV/AIDS, and malaria combined. “[SEforALL] is going to have a target to bring that to zero. In order to bring it to zero, you need to provide clean cooking fuels and cookstoves. You need a market to make that regular, service industry and all—it’s a whole supply chain,” says Yumkella. “So you see to solve that health problem, you need market solutions and technology.” The UN-Energy chief further addresses the direct link between energy and women’s economic empowerment in developing countries. “Women and girls spend 20 hours a week collecting firewood and water, then they come home and cook with it, and poison themselves. You begin to see the social dimensions of energy—it will free up the women,” Yumkella tells UNEARTH News. The twenty or more hours spent weekly on collecting cooking fuel otherwise takes away from time that could be spent earning income or on educational opportunities. Clean cooking solutions also not only empower women, but dramatically reduce the risk of gender-based violence, as there is a greater danger of women being sexual assaulted when they leave to collect cooking fuel. On Sept. 25, The Africa-America Institute (AAI) presented Yumkella with the AAI Distinguished Alumnus Award in honor of his achievements and “contributions to Africa and the world” with respect to sustainable development efforts. After accepting his award, the honoree spoke on the breadth of opportunity in Africa. “We do not want charity,” declared Yumkella. “We want business.” The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reports that a green economy, specifically clean energy investments, will help achieve the MDGs. The eight goals cannot be reached without universal access to energy, per the first SEforALL initiative. According to Yumkella, scaled energy investment is central to leveraging aid as a business model, rather than as traditional aid. With maximized returns, energy companies are able to provide access to capital and subsequently provide “the transformative change [necessary] for sustainable development and for climate.”

A global economy that is “low carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive” would be key to poverty eradication and would require 2 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) in green investments. “The poorest people right now pay more for energy than anybody. They don’t have enough energy to run businesses, whether in restaurants, factories, or processing plants,” stated Yumkella. “So [countries] cannot reduce hunger or create jobs without reliable affordable energy.” Based on Millennium Institute research, 48 million jobs would result from the estimated 2 percent GDP green investments, along with addressing environmental challenges. To combat climate change, the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen established a goal toward a two degrees Celsius limit on raising the global average temperature. No practical way of accomplishing the goal was agreed upon however. “Given the scale of what we need to do, to give people access to energy but also keep the world below or within two degrees [Celsius], we’re talking speed and scale that cannot be done by traditional aid,” explains Yumkella. Yumkella points out that the total amount of aid money going into energy access is approximately $9 billion. The International Energy Agency reports that that approximately $9 billion is annually invested in energy access, or 3 percent of total global energy investment. To achieve SEforALL’s first target on universal access to energy by 2030, an investment of $48 billion per year is needed. Yumkella asks, “How do we go from $9 billion to $48 billion? Governments don’t have that money, given the financial crisis. So we need the private sector.” Public-private partnerships (PPPs) would require public capital, or aid money, to leverage private capital investments. “You can’t solve climate change without an energy revolution, meaning the rich countries must change how they produce and use energy to lower their emissions,” says Yumkella. “Twenty-two countries emit 80 percent of greenhouse gases—they account for 80 percent of energy demand, but they also are the biggest investors in clean energy and low carbon technologies.” According to Yumkella, SEforALL’s second and third targets on energy efficiency and renewable energy are therefore essential to solving climate change. “If advanced countries take those two targets and implement them aggressively, we can all stay within two degrees of global warming.” Climate change is the world’s current greatest threat and must be included in the post-2015 agenda as corroborated by Yumkella. “It’s a mass movement of companies and government to create a mega partnership so we have an energy revolution for the 21^st century—that’s the drive. It’s rich and poor countries, big companies, small countries working together to have an energy revolution,” concluded Yumkella.