22 June 2012
Voluntary Commitments to Date at Rio+20 Near 700
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Voluntary commitments increased to nearly 700 registered commitments at Rio+20, in large part due to 156 commitments registered as part of the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SE4ALL).

These commitments include 14 government commitments, 30 UN and IGO commitments, 16 civil society commitments, and 96 private sector commitments.

RIO+2022 June 2012: The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) Secretariat has reported on the latest submissions of voluntary commitments, which it is compiling in an online compendium on the Rio+20 website. As of 22 June, a total of 687 voluntary commitments have been registered. These new commitments include 156 voluntary commitments registered as part of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative (SE4ALL).

Fourteen new commitments were registered as part of the SE4ALL initiative by the Governments of Brazil, Denmark, the EC, Ghana, Norway, the UK, and the US. Brazil registered five of these commitments under the areas of large scale renewable power; distributed electricity solutions; industrial and agricultural processes; and capacity building and knowledge sharing.

The UN and Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) registered 30 commitments under the SE4All initiative, including numerous new commitments by the World Bank and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The African Development Bank (AfDB) registered its commitment to invest US$20 million and mobilize an additional US$80 billion to ensure investment African countries need to achieve their energy goals by 2030. As part of this initiative, the AfDB will prioritize financing of regional scale energy projects, and small and medium initiatives that increase rural access to electricity.

Civil society registered 16 SE4ALL commitments. The private sector listed 96 commitments, with representative from diverse industries, including the building, energy, finance and banking, and transport industries registering commitments.

The SE4LL initiative aims to achieve sustainable energy for all by 2030 through: ensuring universal access to modern energy services, doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency, and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

Commitment registration can be done at www.uncsd2012.org/commit. Username/password can be received by emailing uncsd2012@un.org. [Rio+20 Webpage on Voluntary Commitments] [IISD RS Sources]