19 July 2012: The Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative has published its July 2012 Newsletter, with articles on: SE4ALL actions and commitments; Energy Day and related events held at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20); and tracking SE4ALL progress.

In an opening message, Co-chairs Chad Holliday, Chairman of the board of directors of Bank of America, and Kandeh Yumkella, Director General of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), describe progress and accomplishments in the Initiative’s first 10 months, and outline future work on SE4ALL’s long-term strategy and implementation.

The newsletter reports that the High-level Group on SE4ALL has requested a baseline report to provide an overview on progress, build consensus on appropriate monitoring approaches, and serve as a basis to produce periodic progress reports. The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the World Bank, through the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) and its Sustainable Energy Department, will coordinate the preparation of the report with the support of other international energy institutions.

The newsletter also highlights a new resource section on the SE4ALL website that contains descriptions and links to publications, and describes selected media highlights from SE4ALL at Rio+20. Finally, it includes links to videos with: Yumkella; Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner for Development; Christine Eibs Singer, co-founder of E+Co; Tim Wirth, President of the United Nations Foundation; and Jacques Sebisaho, who runs a health clinic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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. [Publication: SE4ALL Newsletter] [SE4ALL Website]