January 2009: The UN Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (UN-ESCWA) is organizing an Expert Group Meeting on “Best Practices and Measures for Promoting Renewable Energy Applications in ESCWA Region,” scheduled to take place from 3-4 February 2009, in Beirut, Lebanon. Back to back with the meeting, the UN-ESCWA Committee on Energy will convene its seventh session from 5-6 February.

The meeting is based on the recognition that renewable energy applications in the Arab region remain limited, that the use of renewable energy technologies in rural and remote areas helps achieve the Millennium Development Goals related to poverty eradication and environmental sustainability, and that the UN-ESCWA region possesses abundant renewable energy sources. [UN-ESCWA Press Release]