Summary
The second day of the 4th SEforALL Forum focused on innovative solutions that can help deliver change at the speed and scale needed to meet SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy). Opening the discussions, SEforALL CEO Rachel Kyte reflected on the “reality check” and inspirational conversations, business transactions and connections of the previous day, and informed participants that the momentum generated would continue on Friday, 4 May, with over 90 meetings scheduled to take place in Lisbon.
Some of the highlights from the second day are detailed below:
- Continuation of a series of Knowledge into Action Dialogues, Calls to Action, “Disruptive Voices,” and Partner Networking Sessions to showcase innovative solutions and opportunities to achieve scale and action across the various energy sectors.
- Announcement of new pledges and new partnerships, such as the Shine Campaign, a group of 35 philanthropists, faith leaders, and private capital organizations committed to advancing energy access.
- An Interactive Lunch focusing on the theme, ‘Blended Finance for SDG 7: Mobilizing Commercial Finance to Achieve Universal Energy Access Across Sub-Saharan Africa.’
- Screening of the video ‘Phoebe’s Story,’ highlighting the impact of a joint project of the UN Foundation and the UK’s Department for International Development to electrify more than 60 health centers in Ghana and Uganda.
Closing the Forum, Rachel Kyte congratulated all stakeholders for moving the conversation from one only about energy to one about healthcare, jobs, education, businesses, and prosperity overall. She honored new commitments covering, among others, electricity connections, clean fuels, clean cooking, off-grid energy, mobilization of faith communities, the displaced and refugees, and financial resources.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided daily digital coverage and a summary report from the 4th SEforALL Forum. The summry report is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis
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Plenary Session
Michael Liebreich, Chairman and CEO, Liebreich Associates
Greta Bull, CEO, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, and Thomas Gottschalk, CEO, Mobisol
Rachel Kyte, SEforALL CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All
From L-R: Rana Adib, Executive Secretary, REN21; Alfredo Parres, Group Senior Vice President, ABB; Gilles Vermot Desroches, Sustainability Senior Vice President, Schneider Electric
Alfredo Parres, Group Senior Vice President, ABB
Gilles Vermot Desroches, Sustainability Senior Vice President, Schneider Electric
Nithya Ramanathan, Co-Founder and CEO, Nexleaf Analytics, and Jürgen Fischer, President, Danfoss Cooling
Cathy Zoi, Co-founder and President, Odyssey
Lorien Gamaroff, Founder and CEO, Bankymoon
Donald Sadoway, Professor of Materials Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Announcement of The Shine Campaign
Golo Pilz, Brahma Kumaris
Per Heggenes, CEO, IKEA Foundation
Fletcher Harper, Executive Director, GreenFaith
Closing Session
From L-R: Rachel Kyte, CEO, SEforALL; Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Ghana; Bjarni Bjarnason, CEO, Reykjavik Energy; Naoko Ishii, CEO, Global Environment Facility (GEF); and Upendra Tripathy, Interim Director-General, International Solar Alliance
Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Ghana
Naoko Ishii, CEO, GEF
Bjarni Bjarnason, CEO, Reykjavik Energy
Upendra Tripathy, Interim Director-General, International Solar Alliance
The Deep Dive: Catalyzing Decentralized Renewable Energy Markets
From L-R: Harish Hande, Managing Director, SELCO India; Anya Cherneff, Founder and Executive Director, Empower Generation; Felice Zaccheo, Head of Unit, Sustainable Energy and Climate Change, Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development, European Commission; and Jaideep Bansal, Energy Access Leader, Global Himalayan Expedition
Isaac Kiva, Secretary for Renewable Energy, Ministry of Energy, Kenya
Ashvin Dayal, Associate Vice President and Managing Director, The Rockefeller Foundation
The Deep Dive: Energy in Humanitarian Settings
Sheila Oparaocha, International Coordinator and Programme Manager, ENERGIA
Michael Keating, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Somalia
Andrew Harper, Director, Division of Programme Support and Management, UN Refugee Agency
The Deep Dive: Financing the Transition
From L-R: Daniel Klier, Group Head of Strategy and Global Head of Sustainable Finance, HSBC; Teresa Ribeiro, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Portugal; Audrey Desiderato, Founder and COO, SunFunder; Sam Parker, Director, Shell Foundation; and Howard Bamsey, Executive Director, Green Climate Fund
Teresa Ribeiro, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Portugal
Daniel Klier, Group Head of Strategy and Global Head of Sustainable Finance, HSBC
Mafalda Duarte, Program Manager and Head, Climate Investment Funds
Promoting Gender Integration through Policy Reform
From L-R: Sheila Oparaocha, International Coordinator and Programme Manager, ENERGIA; Ana Victoria Rojas, Senior Energy Adviser, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Global Gender Office; Monica Maduekwe, Programme Officer, ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE); Karin Reiss, Sustainable Energy Expert, UN Industrial Development Organization; Iliyana Arnaudova, Senior Policy and Development Specialist, Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE); and Ellen Morris, President and Founder, Sustainable Energy Solutions
Ana Victoria Rojas, Senior Energy Adviser, IUCN, Global Gender Office
Monica Maduekwe, Programme Officer, ECREEE
Iliyana Arnaudova, Senior Policy and Development Specialist, RCREEE
Energizing Finance: Barriers and Opportunities to Unlock Finance for Energy Access
View of the panel during the session
Lucy Stevens, Senior Policy Adviser for Energy Access, Practical Action
Rita Poppe, Advocacy Officer, Hivos
Cooling for All - Creating Markets for Sustainable Cooling Solutions
From L-R: Alan Miller, Climate Finance and Policy Specialist; Julia Panzer, Director of Strategic Communications, Danfoss; Lily Riahi, Advisor on Sustainable Cities, UN Environment; Xiao Wang, Programme Officer, Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency; and Toby Peters, Professor in Cold Economy, Birmingham University
Alan Miller, Climate Finance and Policy Specialist
Xiao Wang, Programme Officer, Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency
Lily Riahi, Advisor on Sustainable Cities, UN Environment
Empowering Women: Pathways for Up-Scaling Women-Centric Approaches to Energy Access
Soma Dutta, Senior Technical Advisor, ENERGIA
Stephanie Finigan, Manager of Operations, Value for Women
Chebet Lesan, Founder and CEO, BrightGreen
Energy and Health: Building Bridges
Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization
Donee Alexander, Senior Director of Evidence and Impact, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
Marcel Raats, Senior Energy Advisor, RVO.NL, and Jem Porcaro, Senior Director of Energy Access, UN Foundation
Building Capacity and Coordination around Energy Systems Planning and Modeling
William Blyth, Senior Research Fellow, UK Department for International Development
Faruk Yusuf Yabo, Assistant Director, Renewable Energy and Rural Power Access, Ministry of Power, Nigeria
Robert Nyamvumba, Energy Division Manager, Ministry of Infrastructure, Rwanda
Around the venue
The IISD team: Olivia Pasini; Mike Muzurakis; Wangu Mwangi; and Virginia Wiseman