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Second Annual Sustainable Energy for All Forum - “Financing Sustainable Energy for All”

18-21 May 2015 | UN Headquarters, New York


Highlights for Wednesday, 20 May 2015

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Daily Web Coverage — About | 18 May | 19 May | 20 May | 21 May | Summary
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On Wednesday morning, the first-ever SE4All Global Ministerial Policy Dialogue convened at the UN General Assembly Hall, UN Headquarters, in New York.

On the third day of the SE4All Forum, delegates convened in the first-ever Global Energy Ministerial Dialogue, taking place from 20-21 May at the UN General Assembly Hall, UN Headquarters in New York. The main objective of the policy dialogue is to reaffirm the Rio+20 determination “to act to make sustainable energy for all a reality.”

Following the opening plenary in the morning, delegates convened in a high-level panel on ‘Catalyzing a Trillion Dollar Investment.’ Three high-level panels then followed to discuss how to accelerate the three SE4All 2030 goals of ensuring universal energy access, doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. In the afternoon, following a dialogue on energy, women and children’s health, two high-level panels took place under the overall theme of ‘Strengthening Global Energy Cooperation on Energy.’

Side events held during the day included a high-level leadership luncheon hosted by the European Commission and a high-level event on financing sustainable energy for least developed countries convened by the UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS).

IISD Reporting Services provided daily web coverage, daily reports and a summary report from the Second Annual Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) Forum - “Financing Sustainable Energy for All”.


Opening Plenary

Jan Eliasson, UN Deputy Secretary-General

Kaha Imnadze, acting President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), on behalf of Sam Kahamba Kutesa, UNGA President


Kandeh Yumkella, Special Representative of the
Secretary-General and Chief Executive, SE4All, announced that, following his retirement from the UN in July, he will continue this work in his home country, Sierra Leone.

Jan Eliasson (left), UN Deputy Secretary-General, thanked Kandeh Yumkella, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Chief Executive, SE4All, for his contribution to furthering the SE4All goals.


High-Level Panel on Catalyzing a Trillion Dollar Investment

At this panel, moderated by Ali Velshi, Al Jazeera America, panelists discussed how to overcome
infrastructural and finance barriers in order to attain the SE4All 2030 goals.

Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for
International Cooperation and Development

Piyush Goyal, Minister of State for Coal,
Power and New and Renewable Energy, India


Anita Marangoly George (right), World Bank

Lutaf Kassam (right), Industrial Promotion Services Limited


High-Level Panels on Achieving Sustainable Energy For All by 2030

Mohinder Gulati, SE4All, introduced the high-level panels

Ensuring Universal Energy Access

During this session, Moderator Matthew Bishop asked panelists to detail their
priority actions and advise on how to achieve the energy access goal by 2030.


Suleiman Al-Herbish, Director-General,
OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID)

Alfredo Pires, Minister of Petroleum and
Mineral Resources, Timor Leste


Isabella Lövin, Minister for International
Development Cooperation, Sweden

Omar Kittaneh, Minister of the Palestine Energy Authority


Doubling the Global Rate of Improvement in Energy Efficiency

Panelists discussed some benefits of efficient energy use, including reduction of carbon emissions, and highlighted
good practices at the national level in developing conducive regulatory frameworks and incentives to boost efficiency.


Masahiko Horie, Ambassador for Global Environmental Affairs, Japan

Martin Bille Hermann, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark


Hans Brattskar, State Secretary (Deputy Minister),
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway

Ajay Mathur, Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, India


Alexei Teksler (right), Deputy Minister of Energy, Russia

Participants during the event


Doubling the Share of Renewable Energy in the Global Energy Mix

This session highlighted some national and international initatives in the renewables sector and discussed some challenges to further scaling up the sector globally.

Tania Rödiger-Vorwerk, Deputy Director General, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany

Emilio Rappaccioli, Minister Advisor to the President for Renewable Energy, Nicaragua


Albert Geber de Melo, Director-General, Eletrobras

Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Iceland


Gil-Hong Kim, Senior Director, Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Valentin Rybakov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Belarus


High-Level Leadership Luncheon, hosted by the European Commission

Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development

L-R: Roberto Ridolfi, European Commission, and Akon, Hip Hop Artist and Co-Founder, Akon Lighting Africa

Akon, Hip Hop Artist and Co-Founder, Akon Lighting Africa, addressing participants.

High-Level Panel on Energy, Women and Children’s Health

The session, moderated by Laura Trevelyan, BBC, highlighted the link between lack of access to clean and reliable energy and high levels of maternal and child mortality. Panelists discussed how clean energy and clean cookstoves can enable women to find new economic opportunities.

Sheila Oparaocha, ENERGIA

Alexander Evans, Global LPG Partnership


Irene Muloni, Minister of Energy and Minerals, Uganda

Nawal Al-Hosany, Masdar


Sally Gear, Department for International Development, United Kingdom

Maurizio Vecchione, Intellectual Ventures (IV)


Strengthening Global Energy Cooperation on Energy


From SDGs to COP21, and Beyond

This session was moderated by Irene Giner-Reichl, President of the Global Forum on Sustainable Energy (GFSE) (center),
and explored ways to build synergies across the SE4All, climate change and Post-2015 Development Agenda processes.

John Podesta, Former Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton and Counselor to President Barack Obama

Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson Global Environment Facility (GEF), and moderator Irene Giner-Reichl, GFSE

Darcy Boyce, Minister of Energy, Immigration, Telecommunications and Invest Barbados


John Kioli, Kenya Climate Change Working Group

John Podesta, Former Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton and Counselor to President Barack Obama, being interviewed at the end of the session.


Strengthening Global Energy Governance and Partnerships — Roles of the UN

This session explored how to strengthen the convening power of the UN in order to create a more effective global dialogue on energy issues.

Christian Friis Bach, Executive Secretary, UNECE

Christoph Frei, Secretary-General, World Energy Council


Fernando Ferreira, Executive Secretary, Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE)

A participant interacted with the panel.

At the close of the session, Kandeh Yumkalla posed a series of questions to participants, relating to a possible options for continuing international work on the SE4All agenda.
Daily Web Coverage — About | 18 May | 19 May | 20 May | 21 May | Summary
Funding for coverage of the Second Annual Sustainable Energy for All Forum “Financing Sustainable Energy for All”, has been provided by the SE4All Forum, The World Bank, and Mr. Serge Martin,
Special Advisor to the UN Foundation on Sustainable Energy for All
Sustainable Energy for All The World Bank