As UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon launched Sustainable Energy for All as an initiative of the UN in 2011. In 2016, entrusted by the UN and World Bank to continue to accelerate action on the newly-launched Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), SEforALL was established as a Quasi-International Organization under Austrian law, headquartered in Vienna.
In Q3 2024, we transitioned from being a Quasi International Organization under Austrian law to becoming a UNOPS-hosted entity in response to our growing operations and expanded geographical footprint.
Our CEO serves as the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All. Alongside Achim Steiner, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, she also acts as Co-Chair of UN-Energy, the United Nations‘ mechanism for inter-agency collaboration in the field of energy.
SEforALL cooperates through bilateral partnerships and other mechanisms with many UN agencies, including UNDP, UNEP, UNIDO, and the WHO.