New York – 20 May 2015
Delivered by H.E. Mr. Kaha Imnadze, Permanent Representative of Georgia on behalf of President Kutesa
Honourable Ministers,
Excellencies,
Mr. Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General,
H.E. Mr. Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development,
Mr. Kandeh Yumkella, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and CEO, Sustainable Energy for All,
Mr. Ibrahim Mayaki, CEO of NEPAD,
Ms. Sheila Oparaocha, Executive Secretary of ENERGIA,
Distinguished participants,
It is my pleasure to address this first Global Energy Ministerial Meeting on behalf of His Excellency, Sam Kutesa, President of the General Assembly.
We meet here today two years after the adoption of resolution 67/215, through which the General Assembly declared 2014-2024 the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All.
Since then, the interlinkages between sustainable energy and sustainable development have become increasingly evident. Sustainable energy issues have been incorporated into the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will be the main component of the post-2015 development agenda.
This meeting is timely as Member States and stakeholders are formulating an ambitious and transformative post-2015 development agenda, with eradication of poverty and achievement of sustainable development as its core objectives. Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all, will greatly contribute to economic transformation, improving people’s livelihoods, addressing climate change and protecting our planet.
We need energy for industrialization, for critical infrastructure in sectors such as health, education, transport, and ICT. Globally, technological advances have resulted in on-going progress towards increasing access to sustainable energy. Nevertheless, formidable challenges persist.
Today, nearly 1.3 billion people worldwide do not have access to electricity, while about 2.8 billion people lack clean cooking facilities. The majority of these people live in rural areas of many developing countries, in Africa, Asia, Latin America and other regions, where the lack of access to energy has been closely linked to poverty.
To ensure affordable and sustainable energy for all will require doubling renewable energy and energy efficiency globally. In order to achieve these objectives, estimates indicate that annual investments would need to be doubled to more than 800 billion US dollars.
It is essential that governments continue to prioritize energy access, higher energy efficiency and cleaner energy in national development plans and strategies. We need appropriate policy and institutional frameworks to encourage investment in the energy sector and spur further advances in the development of clean-energy technology.
Developing countries and those in special situations including African countries, Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), and Small Island Developing States (SIDs) face greater challenges of access to sustainable energy. International cooperation is required in financing, technology development and transfer and capacity building to help these countries address their unique challenges.
Excellencies,
One of the main challenges that many developing countries face is lack of affordable and long-term financing for energy projects. This is an issue that should be adequately addressed in the context of the means of implementation for the post-2105 development agenda.
We must work towards ensuring that the upcoming Third International Conference on Financing for Development to be held in July in Addis Ababa, is successful with concrete deliverables to support the implementation of the new development agenda.
In this regard, we need a renewed and strong global partnership. We need greater collaboration among governments, multilateral organizations, international financial institutions, regional development banks, civil society and the private sector, among other actors.
Excellencies,
Three years ago at Rio+20 we committed ourselves to taking steps to make sustainable energy for all a reality. Today, we have a historic opportunity to deliver on that commitment. Let us work together to ensure that sustainable energy becomes a way of life for present and future generations.
I thank you for your kind attention.
