5 April 2017: The 3rd Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL, or SE4All) Forum brought together over 1,000 high-level representatives from government, business, civil society and international organizations under the theme ‘Going Further, Faster – Together.’ The Forum’s primary objective was to find solutions for accelerating and scaling-up energy access and energy productivity.

Participants gathered from 3-5 April 2017, in New York, US, to broker new partnerships and ideas, spur investment and drive action towards sustainable energy, while sharing stories on how they are making progress towards realizing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 (affordable and clean energy). The Forum examined recent data on progress, and included the launch of the third edition of the Global Tracking Framework on the delivery of universal access to modern energy services, doubling the share of renewable energy, and doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030.

Each day started with a ‘Wake-Up Call’ session, welcoming participants to the “marketplace,” discussing the vast potential for renewables in Africa.

The Forum showcased: the Multi-Tier Framework Survey in select High-Impact Countries; the Readiness for Investment in Sustainable Energy at Country-level; the State of Energy Access report; and results from efforts to pilot approaches to track the finance flows for energy access. Each day started with a ‘Wake-Up Call’ session, welcoming participants to the “marketplace,” discussing the vast potential for renewables in Africa, and challenging participants to regard universal access to energy in the context of sustainability. This was followed by a ‘Marshalling the Evidence’ session focusing on: the latest data on productivity for high-impact countries; the latest data on access to electrification and clean cooking for high-impact countries; and practical and inspirational examples that showcase the tangible benefits of energy. Each day, a ‘Knowledge into Action’ session explored how leaders use ambitious policies and incentives to harness the potential of energy efficiency. Over the three days, in nine ‘Dive Deep’ sessions, panelists considered key elements of sustainable energy, including: policies; country actions; utilities; connections; clean cooking; doubling energy productivity; leaving no one behind; the new market; and “off grid – on target.”

The meeting also included 34 ‘Partner Working Sessions.’ On the last day of the Forum, the Global Futures Report: The SHINE initiative was announced. The inititaive is an emerging, independent global campaign dedicated to ending energy poverty and unlocking new opportunities for billions of people.

SEforALL was launched in 2011 by then-UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. SEforALL’s Advisory Board provides strategic guidance, and is co-chaired by the UN Secretary-General and the President of the World Bank Group. [SE4ALL Forum Website] [ENB Meeting Coverage] [UN Press Release]