19 January 2010: The World Bank launched online consultations to receive input from civil society on its new energy sector strategy and how the World Bank Group can best help developing countries improve access to and the reliability of energy, while helping them shift to a more environmentally sustainable energy development path.
The proposed strategy includes action to support countries in their efforts to shift to a low greenhouse gas intensity path, and to promote technologies for local and global environmental sustainability such as storing energy for intermittent renewable electricity, concentrating solar power, and carbon capture and storage.
The first phase of consultations, from February to June 2010, will feature a series of meetings, video conferences and other events. An approach paper has been posted online for public review in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish, and Russian, together with background papers in English. [World Bank Consultations]