Small Island Developing States

The Special Session of the 2018 Vienna Energy Forum convened on Monday, 14 May, in plenary session and high-level roundtables with the participation of over 430 attendees. The Special Session breaks the bi-annual cycle of the Forum in order to provide feedback on SDG 7 (energy) to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). During the morning plenary, focusing on the transformation of energy systems, participants heard Jeremy Rifikin, Foundation on Economic Trends, describing the energy transition as humanity’s third economic revolution, which he said was founded on the convergence of decarbonization, decentralization and digitization of transport. Panelists discussed challenges and opportunities in several regions, including energy access, energy efficiency, the EU clean energy package, and private sector considerations. In the first afternoon plenary, panelists addressed climate change and clean energy technology innovation, as well as how to empower and catalyze entrepreneurial eco-systems for climate innovation in developing countries. In the second plenary, focused on the role of partnerships in achieving development, panelists addressed, among others, interlinkages between different Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), regional initiatives and centers of excellence in the energy sector, and the role of donors. The morning high-level roundtable focused on enhancing the participation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups from developing countries in climate and clean energy technology and innovation markets. Participants discussed, among others, policy support needed to nurture SMEs, how to move from project-based to integrated approaches, how large companies can provide support for SMEs, and barriers for clean energy development. In the afternoon, a roundtable heard from the clean energy centers of the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres (GN-SEC) and other regional initiatives on the role of regional approaches to scaling up clean energy. The last roundtable addressed socio-economic impacts of low-carbon energy systems, finance, and the potential for clean energy to catalyze industrial transformation in developing countries. In the high-level segment on powering innovation for prosperity, panelists reflected on national experiences, the effectiveness of policy instruments, and how the international community can help accelerate energy transitions. During the closing session participants heard about preparations for the SDG 7 review during the HLPF. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, has provided digital coverage and a summary report from VEF 2018. The summary report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Opening Session From L-R: Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA); Karin Kneissl, Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, Austria; Li Yong, Director-General, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); Marie Chatardová, President, UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); and Abdelrahman Ayman Ibrahim, Global President, International Association of Students in Economic and Commercial Sciences (AIESEC) Li Yong, Director-General, UNIDO Marie Chatardová, President, ECOSOC Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General, UN DESA Karin Kneissl, Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, Austria Abdelrahman Ayman Ibrahim, Global President, AIESEC Li Yong, Director-General, UNIDO, with Abdul Hussain Ali Mirza, Minister of Electricity and Water Affairs, Bahrain Rachel Kyte, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, with Abze Djigma, CEO, AbzeSolar High-level Segment: Powering Innovation for Prosperity Simon D’Ujanga, Minister of State for Energy and Mineral Development, Uganda Waldemar Łagoda, Deputy Director of the Department of Energy, Ministry of Energy, Poland Philippe Scholtès, Managing Director, Programme Development and Technical Cooperation, UNIDO Abdul Hussain Ali Mirza, Minister of Electricity and Water Affairs, Bahrain Dadan Kusdiana, Advisor to the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia Plenary 1: Energy System Transformation: Opportunities and Challenges for Developing and Emerging Economies From L-R: Jeremy Rifkin, President, Foundation on Economic Trends; Scott Foster, Director, Sustainable Energy Division, UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE); Mohamed Ali Alhakim, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA); Edu Willemse, Public Relations and Partnerships Manager, Energising Development (EnDev) program, GIZ; Rachel Kyte, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All; Lamberto Dai Pra, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Australia, Enel Green Power; and Megan Richards, Director of Energy Policy, Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission Rachel Kyte, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All Megan Richards, Director of Energy Policy, Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission Scott Foster, Director, Sustainable Energy Division, UNECE Jeremy Rifkin, President, Foundation on Economic Trends Mohamed Ali Alhakim, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, ESCWA Lamberto Dai Pra, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Australia, Enel Green Power Plenary 2: Climate and Clean Energy Technology and Innovation: Empowering and Catalyzing Entrepreneurial Eco-systems for Climate Innovation in Developing Countries From L-R: Harish Hande, Chairman, SELCO India; Tadej Slapnik, State Secretary, Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister, Republic of Slovenia; Pavel Kabat, Director-General and CEO, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA); Stephan Sicars, Director, Department of Environment, UNIDO; Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); Howard Bamsey, Executive Director, Green Climate Fund (GCF); and Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Howard Bamsey, Executive Director, GCF Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General, WMO Pavel Kabat, Director-General and CEO, IIASA, and Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC Harish Hande, Chairman, SELCO India Tadej Slapnik, State Secretary, Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister, Republic of Slovenia Stephan Sicars, Director, Department of Environment, UNIDO Plenary 3: Delivering Prosperity through Partnerships: North-South and South-South Technology Cooperation From L-R: Dirk Fransaer, Managing Director, Flemish Institute for Technological Research; André Faaij, Professor, University of Groningen; Robert Zeiner, Director of International Programmes and Projects, Austrian Development Agency; and Christine Lins, Co-Founder, Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition Peter Traupmann, Managing Director, Austrian Energy Agency Irene Giner-Reichl, President, Global Forum on Sustainable Energy Alexandre Pinho, Global Lead for the UN, Microsoft Round Table 1: Enhancing the Participation of SMEs and Start-ups from Developing Countries in the Growing Markets for Climate and Clean Energy Technology and Innovation Nisha Pillai, International moderator and Journalist Leena Srivastava, Vice-Chancellor and Professor, TERI University Habiba Ali, Managing Director and CEO, Sosai Renewable Energies Company Vijay Modi, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, and Dennis Pamlin, Senior Advisor, Research Institute Sweden Faris Hasan, Director, OPEC Fund for International Development, and Paul S. Horwitz, Strategic Planning Consultant, Green Climate Fund Round Table 2: A “New Deal” for Economies of Scale and Inclusiveness - The Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres (GN-SEC) From L-R: Christine Lins, Co-Founder, Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition; Robert Zeiner, Director, Programmes and Projects International, Austrian Development Agency; Albert Binger, Secretary-General, Small Island Developing States Sustainable Energy and Climate Resilience International Organization; Tareq Emtairah, Director, Department of Energy, UNIDO; and Igor Barat, Director, European Regional Office, International Investment Bank Solomone Fifita, Manager, Pacific Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Radia Sedaoui, Chief Energy, UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia Mark Lister, Head, Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency Mahama Kappiah, Executive Director, ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, and Yan Huang, Deputy Chief Engineer, Chang Jiang Survey Planning Design Research Co., Ltd. Berthold Breid, CEO, The Renewables Academy, and Benedikt Hoskuldsson, Partnerships Lead, Sustainable Energy for All Round Table 3: Emerging Low-carbon Energy Systems as a Catalyst for Industrial Transformation in Developing Countries From L-R: Miquel Muñoz Cabré, IISD; Cecilia, Ugaz Estrada, Director, Department of Policy Research and Statistics, UNIDO; Edu Willemse, Public Relations and Partnerships Manager, EnDev program, GIZ; Carsten Hellpap, Programme Manager, Energising Development Partnership, German Corporation for International Cooperation; and Tareq Emtairah, Director, Department of Energy, UNIDO Rana Ghoneim and Mark Draeck, Energy and Climate Change Branch, UNIDO Roberto Ridolfi, Special Advisor on Strategy and Financing Development, Food and Agriculture Organization, and Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Deputy Director-General and Deputy CEO, IIASA Rana Adib, Executive Secretary, Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, and Tarek Al-Amad, CEO, European Jordanian Renewable Energy Projects Abze Djigma, CEO, AbzeSolar, and Scott Foster, Director, Sustainable Energy Division, UNECE Closing Session Tareq Emtairah, Director, Department of Energy, UNIDO Minoru Takada, Team Leader (Sustainable Energy), Division for Sustainable Development Goals, UN DESA Between Sessions

The fourth Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) Forum opened on Wednesday, 2 May 2018, at the Convento do Beato in Lisbon, Portugal. Under the overarching theme of ‘Leaving No One Behind,’ the two-day Forum is: reviewing the latest evidence of progress on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 (access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all; exploring scalable innovations to achieve the three SEforALL objectives of electricity access, accelerating renewable energy and improving energy efficiency; and reflecting on lessons learned regarding what is needed to reach the “last mile” populations. Highlights of the first day included: Presentation of results from the 2018 Tracking SDG 7 Energy Progress Report; A high-level panel discussion on policy matters, focusing on national strategies to accelerate progress towards SDG 7, including perspectives on how to address challenges in meeting sustainable energy and climate goals; A “Wake Up Call” from Rachel Kyte, SEforALL CEO, on what is needed to achieve SDG 7; Three “Deep Dive” sessions exploring the themes of: electricity for all in sub-Saharan Africa; clean fuels for all; and cooling for all; Nine parallel discussion sessions organized by SEforALL partners; An interactive session on gender inclusive investing in clean energy, which discussed linkages between SDGs 5 (gender equality) and 7; and A marketplace on solutions to achieve clean and affordable energy for all. 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 For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Opening Plenary Rachel Kyte, SEforALL CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All António Luís Guerra Nunes Mexia, CEO, Energias de Portugal (EDP)   Elizabeth Press, Director of Planning and Programme Support, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Maria Neira, World Health Organization (WHO) Riccardo Puliti, Senior Director, Head of the Energy and Extractives Global Practice, World Bank Group Vivien Foster, Global Lead for Energy Economics, Markets and Institutions, World Bank Group From L-R: Laura Cozzi, Head of the Energy Demand Outlook Division, International Energy Agency (IEA); Vivien Foster, Global Lead for Energy Economics, Markets and Institutions, World Bank Group; Maria Neira, WHO; and Elizabeth Press, Director of Planning and Programme Support, IRENA Per Heggenes, CEO, IKEA Foundation Sheila Oparaocha, International Secretariat, ENERGIA From L-R: Elizabeth Littlefield, Senior Counselor, Albright Stonebridge Group; Gale Rigobert, Minister for Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, Saint Lucia; Leonardo Beltran Rodriguez, Deputy Secretary for Energy Planning and Transition, Mexico; Germaine Kamayirese, Minister for Energy, Water and Sanitation, Rwanda; Masamichi Kono, Deputy Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); and João Pedro Matos Fernandes, Minister of Environment, Portugal Gale Rigobert, Minister for Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, Saint Lucia Leonardo Beltran Rodriguez, Deputy Seretary for Energy Planning and Transition, Mexico Germaine Kamayirese, Minister for Energy, Water and Sanitation, Rwanda Masamichi Kono, Deputy Secretary-General, OECD João Pedro Matos Fernandes, Minister of Environment, Portugal Fernando Medina, Mayor of Lisbon Heidi Schroderus-Fox, United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) Winners of the "Voices of a Brighter Future" journalism competition Laura Cozzi, Head of the Energy Demand Outlook Division, IEA, with Bertrand Magne, SEforALL Participants conferring during a coffee break The Deep Dive: Electricity for All in Sub-Saharan Africa From L-R: James Mwangi, Executive Director, Dalberg Group; Andrew Herscowitz, Coordinator for Power Africa, US Agency for International Development (USAID); Felix Bikpo, CEO, African Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises; Kristina Skierka, Co-Founder and CEO, Power for All; Nthabiseng Mosia, Co-Founder and CFO, Azimuth | Easy Solar; and Philippe Miquel, CEO Western & Central Africa, ENGIE Andrew Herscowitz, Coordinator for Power Africa, USAID, and Felix Bikpo, CEO, African Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Nthabiseng Mosia, Co-Founder and CFO, Azimuth | Easy Solar Shegun Bakari, Advisor to President of Togo The Deep Dive: Clean Fuels for All View of the panel during the session Bessem Enonchong, Country Director, Cameroon, Global LPG Partnership (GLPGP) Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Ghana The Deep Dive: Cooling for All From L-R: Nithya Ramanathan, Co-Founder and CEO, Nexleaf Analytics; Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health, WHO; and Andrea Voigt, Director-General, European Partnership for Energy and the Environment Fatih Özkadi, Global Head of Sustainability and Corporate Affairs, Arçelik Group Nithya Ramanathan, Co-Founder and CEO, Nexleaf Analytics Interactive Lunch - Addressing SDGs 5 and 7: Gender Inclusive Investing in Clean Energy Jennifer Pryce, Calvert Impact Capital Leigh Moran, Calvert Impact Capital Clean Cooking Fuels for All: Moving Beyond the Improved Stove Tom Derksen, Managing Director Energy, Netherlands Development Organisation Eco Matser, Senior Programme Manager, Hivos Participants exchange views in one of the five break-out groups at the session Data that Drives SDG 7: Emerging Findings from the Global Energy Access Survey View of the panel during the session Dana Rysankova, Senior Energy Specialist, and Elisa Portale, Senior Energy Economist, World Bank Group Annemarije Kooijman-van Dijk, Coordinator of Gender and Energy Research Programme, ENERGIA, and Zhihong Zhang, Senior Program Coordinator, Climate Investment Funds, World Bank Group The Energy Access Dividend- Data that Informs and Influences From L-R: Marc Jeuland, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Global Health, Duke University; Vivian Vendeirinho, Founder and Managing Director, RVE.SOL; and Linda Davis, Director of Partnerships, wPower Hub Rebekah Shirley, Director of Research, Power for All Leslie Labruto, Associate Director of Global Energy, Acumen Enabling Jobs with Energy - Opportunities, Challenges and Ongoing Activities View of the panel during the session Farai Evans Chabat, Entrepreneur, President, Youth in Energy Rebecca Symington, Executive Director and Trustee, Mlinda Foundation Karin Reiss, Sustainable Energy Expert, UN Industrial Development Organization Last Mile First: Maximizing the Impacts of Energy Access on the SDGs Davida Wood, Lead, Energy Access and Governance, World Resources Institute (WRI) Isaac Kiva, Secretary for Renewable Energy, Ministry of Energy, Kenya Sarah Wykes, Lead Analyst, Climate Change and Energy, Catholic Agency For Overseas Development (CAFOD) Unlocking Energy Efficiency Finance for High-Impact Areas From L-R: Lily Riahi, Advisor on Sustainable Cities, UN Environment; Amadou Thierno Diallo, Director of Global Practices, Economic and Social Infrastructure, Islamic Development Bank; Steve Kukoda, Vice President, International Copper Alliance; Mark Lister, Head of the Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency; and Ariel Yepez, Chief of the Energy Division, Inter-American Development Bank Lily Riahi, Advisor on Sustainable Cities, UN Environment Steve Kukoda, Vice President, International Copper Alliance Mark Lister, Head of the Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency Between Sessions