25 April 2012: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) Initiative has published an Action Agenda, containing summaries of key action areas to realize SE4ALL and an implementation roadmap to begin working towards that goal.

The document, titled “Sustainable Energy for All: A Global Action Agenda­– Pathways for Concerted Action toward Sustainable Energy for All,” begins by identifying 11 high-impact “Action Areas” that can be leveraged to create and support an environment for widespread deployment of sustainable energy globally. These areas include seven sectors: 1) modern cooking appliances and fuels; 2) distributed electricity solutions; 3) grid infrastructure and supply efficiency; 4) large-scale renewable power; 5) industrial and agricultural processes; 6) transportation; and 7) buildings and appliances. It also includes four enabling action areas: 1) energy planning and policies; 2) business model and technology innovation; 3) finance and risk management; and 4) capacity building and knowledge sharing.

The Action Agenda continues with a chapter focused around an illustrative roadmap table for beginning work on the Action Areas. The table includes progress needed immediately (by the UN Conference on Sustainable Development- UNCSD, or Rio+20), in the short term (by 2015), and in the long term (2015-2030) at the country level in both developing and developed countries, at the sectoral level, and on enabling conditions to allow progress at these levels to begin. The document continues and concludes with a chapter on mobilizing action, outlining specific high-impact opportunities in each Action Area.

The Action Agenda was launched at the Clean Energy Ministerial, which took place on 25-26 April in London, UK.

The SE4ALL initiative is part of the UN’s International Year for Sustainable Energy for All, and has three main objectives: ensuring universal access to modern energy services; doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. [Publication: Sustainable Energy for All: A Global Action Agenda­– Pathways for Concerted Action toward Sustainable Energy for All] [IISD RS Story on New Clean Energy Initiatives and Commitments Announced at CEM3]