SEforALL CEO Proposes New, Triangular Cooperation Model for Africa at China Council

BEIJING, 4 December 2014 - United Nations Under-Secretary-General and CEO of the initiative on Sustainable Energy for All, Kandeh Yumkella, has won support for a new triangular cooperation model linking China, Africa and SEforALL, aimed at mobilising aid, investment and technological know-how to transform Africa’s energy sector. Speaking in Beijing at the 2014 China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), commonly known as the China Council, CEO Yumkella encouraged China to use the multi-stakeholder SEforALL platform to scale up the impact and effectiveness of its South-South cooperation in support of universal access to modern energy sources in Africa. “China is in excellent position to share its knowledge and know-how with Africa, the continent with the greatest challenges in energy,” Yumkella said, lauding China’s work in the region, as well as its major achievements in areas related to SEforALL’s objectives and its recent pledge to limit greenhouse gases and lead the fight against climate change. China’s ambitious goals for 2030 not only meet but surpass SEforALL’s three global targets of ensuring universal access to modern energy services, doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The country’s new climate and environmental strategy is based on its broader vision of creating an Ecological Civilization as part of its next, 13th five-year development plan (2016-2020). Africa has already been a major recipient of Chinese aid, trade and investment for many years, and Yumkella called on China to further leverage its huge support by using the SEforALL platform to cooperate with the European Union and multilateral development banks. This extra leverage for investments in energy and infrastructure could help Africa leapfrog into the green energy revolution -- just as the continent bypassed older communication models to jump straight to mobile telephony -- ensuring that 625 million energy-poor people gain access to electricity for socio-economic development and shared prosperity. SEforALL is already very active in Africa, with many countries developing detailed energy action plans. Receiving a positive response to the proposal for this new, triangular model of cooperation, Yumkella requested the establishment of a China Council Task Force to explore and recommend ways to move the idea forward, scaling up the impact and effectiveness of assistance to Africa while opening up immense investment opportunities. The invitation-only China Council, comprising eminent international and Chinese experts, was established in 1992 as a high-level advisory group in the field of environment and development. It seeks to provide forward-looking policy recommendations to China’s leadership and other decision makers, focusing on sustainable development strategies and the development of resource-efficient and environment–friendly policies. CEO Yumkella has been a member of the China Council for the last five years. The 2014 China Council meeting was held under the theme “Management and Institutional Innovation in Green Development”.   Photo credit: China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development