SEforALL’s second annual Forum kicks off in New York

New York, May 18 - Senior leaders from government, business, finance, civil society and international institutions have gathered in New York for the second annual Sustainable Energy for All Forum, pledging to step up concrete progress on the twin challenges of energy poverty and climate change.

The Forum comes at a significant time, building momentum on energy issues ahead of both the September UN Summit to adopt the post-2015 development agenda, and the December Climate Conference in Paris. It will contribute to shaping the direction of energy policy for the crucial decades to come, and catalyse vital investment to help make sustainable energy for all a reality by 2030.

“Energy touches everything. That’s why you’re here,” Kandeh Yumkella, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All and CEO of the SEforALL initiative, told delegates at the opening plenary today. “Our mantra going forward is very simple: converting commitments to kilowatt hours for real people.”

Yumkella was joined at the opening by Anita Marangoly George, the World Bank’s Senior Director of the Global Practice on Energy and Extractive Industries; Nilda Mesa, Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Sustainability; NASDAQ Vice Chairman Sandy Frucher; and Thione Niang, co-founder with R&B artist Akon of Akon Lighting Africa, which is working to provide solar power in more than 10 African countries.

“I grew up trying to beat the sun so I could do my homework before the sun went down,” Niang said. “We take this fight very personally because we grew up knowing the disadvantages of not having electricity.” Some 2,500 people have signed up for the event, which starts with an intense two-day programme of over 70 multi-stakeholder sessions at the Sheraton Times Square hotel, where energy innovators from both the developing and the developed world will share experience, make connections and advance solutions. The scene then moves to the UN General Assembly Hall for a two-day Global Energy Ministerial – the first to be held at the United Nations – including high-level debate on key policy issues and new commitments to finance and implement action towards the three SEforALL targets on energy access, energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Ministers from over 40 countries will attend, along with heads and senior officials from international organisations and development banks. The Global Energy Ministerial will be opened by UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson and the President of the General Assembly, Sam Kutesa. Private-sector leaders range from the CEOs of major corporations to the heads of dynamic small businesses and social entrepreneurs. Civil society is well represented with more than 1,000 energy innovators and practitioners from both the developing and the developed world, including women’s and youth groups active on energy issues. Also taking part will be the multi-platinum-selling musician Akon, who set up Akon Lighting Africa in 2014 with Niang and Samba Bathily to provide solar power to millions of households across the continent, working with local entrepreneurs. A major strand of the debate will be devoted to the main theme of this year’s Forum: the challenges of financing sustainable energy for all.

Other key events include the World Bank’s presentation of findings from the second edition of SEforALL’s Global Tracking Framework, a benchmark publication that provides a rigorous means of monitoring progress against all three SEforALL targets. The report, which measures developments between 2010 (the cutoff for the first edition) and 2012, concludes that the world is heading in the right direction to achieve universal access to sustainable energy by 2030, but must move faster. “There is a lot more to be done – it shows we’re not making progress fast enough,” George said.

The Forum will also see the launch of a new SEforALL communication campaign on how lack of access to clean energy is killing millions of people every year, particularly women and children, and what SEforALL partners are doing to stop this. Members of SEforALL’s top-level Advisory Board will meet during the Forum to review progress and provide strategic guidance. SEforALL is also issuing its first Annual Report to capture the initiative’s achievements to date and provide focus for the work to come. More details on the Forum, including the full programme and speakers, can be found on the Forum website.