18-21 May 2015 | UN Headquarters, New York
During the closing session, Kandeh Yumkella highlighted some SE4All achievements since its launch in 2011 and invited all delegates interested in contributing to the global movement to join him on the podium to signal their commitment to ending energy poverty © SE4All
May 2015 was mark almost a year since the First Annual Sustainable Energy for All Forum, a landmark event that officially launched the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All 2014-2024, as declared by the UN General Assembly including the initial two- year focus on Women, Children and Health. The inaugural Forum in 2014 brought together nearly 1000 participants from government, international organizations, business and civil society.
The Annual Sustainable Energy for All Forum was the annual meeting place for the extended global energy community.
The overarching theme of this year’s Forum has been “Financing Sustainable Energy for All”, including with a launch of a new Global Sustainable Energy for All Commitment Platform. Importantly, the Forum was also feature the first ever Global Energy Ministerial Dialogue at the United Nations, in order to reaffirm the Rio+20 determination “to act to make sustainable energy for all a reality”, and an Advisory Board meeting, co-convened by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. In focusing on how to act, the Forum included a range of solution-oriented multi-stakeholder sessions for SE4ALL partners from all over the world, and from a variety of sectors. The Forum also offered new approaches to track progress towards 2030 based on the 2nd biennial Sustainable Energy for All Global Tracking Framework.
During the Forum, Osman Benchikh, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), RENFORUS coordinator, highlighted UNESCO’s two initiatives under SE4All: providing solar electricity to rural schools; and Renewable Energy Futures for UNESCO Sites (RENFORUS) in action.
