21 May 2015: Opening the final day of the Global Energy Ministerial Dialogue, a part of the Second Annual Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) Forum, SE4ALL CEO Kandeh Yumkella urged participants to make commitments to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 on energy. The day was largely dedicated to announcements of leadership commitments and actions towards the SE4ALL objectives, with over 80 representatives from governments, business, civil society, multilateral agencies and international organizations outlining their efforts.

The commitments and actions described by delegates included, inter alia: completion of a hydropower project by Brazil and Peru; sponsoring events on clean energy by Austria; enabling access to solar energy for millions of young Africans by Akon Lighting Africa; a wind farm in the Caspian Sea by Azerbaijan; 3 million improved and efficient cookstoves by Cambodia; a strategy for electrification, grid extension and clean energy by Rwanda; completion of SE4ALL gap analyses and action agendas by Tanzania and Swaziland; and the intention to quadruple the current share of renewable energy and achieve 99% electrification by 2020 by Indonesia.

Multilateral organizations, partnerships and consortia also spoke of their actions and commitments, including in the areas of: capacity-building; investment; regional activities on access, renewables and energy efficiency; energy entrepreneurship; gender equality; and interlinkages with SDGs and climate change, among others.

During a leadership panel on the future of energy, topics included energy security, affordability and sustainability, with several panelists noting that use of natural gas power plants can allow for aggressive introduction of renewables. Panelists debated the role of fossil fuels in the transition to a low-carbon economy, a developing country’s right to use its own fossil-fuel resources, and fossil-fuel subsidies.

A panel on monitoring, tracking and accountability highlighted both the World Bank’s Global Tracking Framework and civil society organizations (CSOs) as useful tracking and monitoring resources. One panelist explained that while the rate of improvement on the three SE4ALL objectives from 2010-2012 has increased, the progress still needs to be accelerated to achieve the goals by 2030.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Ministerial Dialogue, Yumkella recapped some of the achievements of the SE4ALL Forum, such as: “changing the narrative” to have a standalone energy goal; announcing country-led actions in more than 100 countries; establishing a multi-stakeholder platform with private banks and investors; and identifying over US$120 billion in potential new annual investments.

The Ministerial Dialogue convened from 20-21 May 2015, in New York City, US. Over 80 ministers and high-level figures from business, international organizations and development banks were in attendance, along with more than 1,000 participants from the developed and developing world. [SE4ALL Forum and Ministerial Overview Schedule] [ENB+ SE4ALL Bulletin Volume 181 Number 11 – Summary of the Second SE4ALL Forum] [IISD RS Coverage of SE4ALL Forum] [IISD RS Story on Day One of Global Energy Ministerial Dialogue]