Sustainable energy for all

An energy shop uses a photovoltaic system for chargin mobile phones in village close to Gorongosa, Mozambique. Photo: Energy for All 2030/Flickr

At Rio+20, SEI and its partners around the world will launch the results of a global assessment on sustainable energy for all.

Energy access for household lighting, heating and cooking is widely regarded as a prerequisite to successfully fighting poverty and improving human well-being. Governments around the world increasingly recognise this, and the UN General Assembly has named 2012 as the year of “Sustainable Energy for All”. Yet what does energy access truly mean? Our position is the world should aim higher, to develop energy systems through electricity and modern fuels that support productive and industrial uses as well – so people can lift themselves out of poverty.

SEI’s new report, Energy for a Shared Development Agenda: Global Scenarios and Governance Implications, explores the viability of such a goal through a global assessment of energy scenarios through 2050, case studies of energy access and low-carbon efforts around the world, and a review of the technological shifts, investments, policies and governance structures needed to bring energy to all.

The goal of this and related SEI research is to lay out a more sustainable pathway for development in the global North and South alike, and encourage strategic discussions about how to achieve these ambitious but very important targets. World leaders can lay the groundwork at Rio+20, and they can increase the chances of success by making sustainable energy for all a priority in global climate and sustainable development policy.

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Side events

• June 19th: Energy for All and Global Sustainability: new scenarios and governance

Essential reading

	Energy for a Shared Development Agenda: Global Scenarios and Governance Implications
	Europe’s Share of the Climate Challenge
	Will African Consumers Buy Cleaner Fuels and Stoves?
	A European Eco-Efficient Economy: Governing climate, energy and competitiveness