20 September 2011: On behalf of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro announced the creation of a High-Level Group on Sustainable Energy for All that is to be at the head of a major new initiative to universalize access to sustainable energy.

The group, formed just a few months before the start of the 2012 International Year of Sustainable Energy for All, will be made up of business, government and civil society leaders from around the world and will aim to double the rate of progress on energy efficiency and share of renewable energy globally by 2030. The initiative will ask countries to provide substantial new financial commitments and establish public-private partnerships to urge investment in these areas. Ban requested Kandeh Yumkella, Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and United States banker Charles Holliday to lead preparations of a Global Action Agenda leading up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil next year. [UN Press release] [UNDP Press release]