Summary
The High-Level Event on “Leaving No One Behind: Energy for Humanitarian Response and Sustainable Development” took place on Sunday, 18 September 2016 at UN Headquarters in New York, US. Hosted by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the event convened on the eve of the UN Summit on Refugees and Migrants, and on the margins of the 71st UN General Assembly.
The event explored how sustainable energy, the subject of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, can improve conditions for people affected by humanitarian crises while building long-term resilience. Participants discussed how lack of energy affects the lives of displaced people, preventing children from studying, women from safely going outside after dark, and families from cooking without polluting their living spaces. Meanwhile, humanitarian agencies spend their scarce resources inefficiently by relying on diesel generators for electricity in camps.
The aim of the event was to spotlight these connections ahead of the Summit on Refugees and Migrants, which convened on 19 September.
The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, the IKEA Foundation, the Moving Energy Initiative, Schneider Electric, and UN-Energy were partners in the high-level event. More >>
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provded a briefing note from the High-Level Event on “Leaving No One Behind: Energy for Humanitarian Response and Sustainable Development”, which is available in HTML and PDF.
Kelly Clements, Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees
Moustapha Naite, Guinea’s Minister of Youth and Youth Employment
Per Heggenes, IKEA Foundation Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Radha Muthiah, CEO of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
Mogens Lykketoft, President of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly and Co-Chair of the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants
Pictures courtesy of the UN