The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has begun a four-year partnership with a private company, ITAIPU Binacional (Brazil-Paraguay), to launch a ‘global sustainability network’ for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on water and energy.
The 'Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions Partnership Initiative' will focus on the inter-linkages between the SDG on clean water and sanitation (SDG 6) and on sustainable energy (SDG 7).
7 March 2018: The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has begun a four-year partnership with a private company, ITAIPU Binacional (Brazil-Paraguay), to launch a ‘global sustainability network’ for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on water and energy. The ‘Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions Partnership Initiative’ will focus on the inter-linkages between the SDG on clean water and sanitation (SDG 6) and on sustainable energy (SDG 7).
The network is expected serve as a platform for governments, business, civil society, and international organizations to share good practices and build their respective capacities for implementing SDG 6 and SDG 7 in a holistic manner. The partnership builds on the company’s work of managing a hydropower dam on the Paraná River, which provides electricity to Brazil and Paraguay.
Launching the partnership, Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, highlighted the company’s track record in implementing the SDGs. In 2015, ITAIPU won the UN-Water Best Practice Award for its ‘Cultivating Good Water’ programme.
ITAIPU Binacional calls itself the world’s largest producer of clean and renewable energy and highlights its experience of enabling successful bilateral cooperation in hydropower generation. [UN Press Release] [ITAIPU Binacional Press Release] [ITAIPU Frequently Asked Questions Web Page]