At the close of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, Federal Environment Minister Peter Altmaier once again urged all paticipants to redouble their efforts to protect the global climate. A new agreement is to be hammered out by 2015.
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UN Decade
Sustainable energy for all
The United Nations have declared the coming decade, from 2014 to 2024, the Decade of Sustainable
Energy for All. About 1.4 billion people, 20 per cent of the world’s population, still have no
access to electricity. The vision of sustainable energy for all can only become reality if we all
pull together.
We need energy to grow and prepare food, to heat homes and schools, to operate hospitals and to
provide safe drinking water. Companies need energy to produce goods and create jobs. Energy gives
us worldwide communications and mobility. Without energy, there can be no development.
The 193 member states of the United Nations (UN) thus decided unanimously in 2013 in New York to
make the decade from 2014 to 2024 the Decade of Sustainable Energy for All. The aim is to give
almost all people around the globe access to a power supply. If we are also to stop climate change,
however, power must be generated in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly way.
Main targets to be achieved by 2030
Access to electricity and modern forms of power for all people around the globe
Sustainable development is impossible without sustainable energy. Energy underpins social and
economic development and provides opportunities for a better life and economic progress. This makes
universal access to modern energy absolutely essential, so as to achieve the Millennium Development
Goals, said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Doubling energy efficiency
This means saving energy and resources. The advantages include lower costs and less environmental
damage, which will benefit all people.
Doubling the percentage of the global energy mix generated from renewables
Energy generated from renewable sources cuts greenhouse gas emissions, reduces local air pollution
and thus mitigates climate change. Dependence on imports of fuels such as oil or coal is scaled
back.
Commitment of member states
The vision of sustainable energy for all can only be achieved together, with the help of global and
national actors. The aim must be to get all people to foster the use of renewables and to make
economical use of energy and other resources.
The United Nations aim to create what they term High Impact Opportunities (HIOs) to this end. These
are platforms which enable organisations with similar goals to work together. About 50 High Impact
Opportunities have been identified so far, including:
Energy efficiency Energy efficiency in buildings and appliances Energy Women's health Finance
Modern household appliances Fuels Sustainable biofuels Sustainable energy for island states Fuel
efficiency.
More than 80 governments of developing countries have already signed up for the Initiative, and aim
to foster the use of sustainable energy.
Activities of the German government
Back in 2011 the UN launched its Sustainable Energy for All Initiative. With its development policy
the German government is supporting this goal. It is working in particular to achieve a global
shift away from fossil fuels to greater use of renewables, paired with efforts to achieve greater
energy efficiency.
One of the priority areas of German development cooperation is energy. The German government
cooperates with more than 50 partner countries. Energy is the single largest field of promotion.
The German Federal Development Ministry aims to help partner countries give another 100 million
people access to electricity by 2030. To this end, aid in the energy sector is to be doubled to a
total of 3.6 billion euros a year.
Support welcome
Not only governments are called on to support the Initiative. Everybody can get involved in the
Sustainable Energy for All Initiative.
On its website the Initiative has a contact form, which organisations can use to offer support. A
US bank, for instance, has pledged to invest a sum of 50 billion US dollars within ten years in
fields including energy efficiency, renewable energies and energy infrastructure.
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