UN aims to achieve Sustainable Energy for All

United Nations General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of a envoy to be at the forefront of the 'sustainable energy for all' initiative.

Mr. Ban, speaking at a high-level event on the margins of the General Assembly, confirmed that Kandeh Yumkella, the Director-General of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), has been nominated for the role to serve as his Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All.

Mr. Yumkella will serve as chief executive of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative the Secretary-General launched last September, with the aim of providing universal energy access, doubling the rate of global energy efficiency improvement, and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

In addition, Mr. Ban announced that he had invited the President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, to serve with him as co-chair of the initiative's newly formed Advisory Board. The Board will provide strategic guidance to the work of the initiative. Its members, who will be announced soon, will be drawn from the private sector, civil society and governments that have shown exceptional leadership.

The Secretary-General also announced the creation of an Executive Committee, to be chaired by Chairman of the Bank of America, Chad Holliday, which will provide operational oversight for the work of the chief executive. As well, a global support team will be established to strengthen coordination among various partners.

He said that the initiative aims to provide more than one billion people with access to modern energy services during its lifespan.

Since its launch one year ago, the Sustainable Energy for All initiative has attracted the voluntary participation of some 60 developing countries; mobilized more than $50 billion from the private sector and investors; and catalyzed hundreds of actions and commitments in support of the three core objectives of the initiative.

Today's event saw significant new commitments to action, including a pledge by the Inter-American Development Bank for $5 billion in five years for work related to the initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Also, the electronics manufacturing firm Philips has announced it will install 100 "light centres" across rural Africa that are the size of small soccer fields and lit using a new generation of highly efficient solar powered LED lighting.

Other commitments to action include one by Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., the world's largest producer of solar panels, to donate up to 300 kilowatts of solar panels to the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to help the hospital reduce its dependence on expensive diesel generators and improve access to electricity.