17 April 2012: The Rio+Solutions website has published a guest article titled “Sustainable development is not possible without sustainable energy,” authored by Kandeh Yumkella, Director-General of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Co-Chair of the UN Secretary-General’s High Level Group on Sustainable Energy for All.

In his article, Yumkella underlines that “Energy is essential for development, and sustainable energy is essential for sustainable development,” stressing that energy poverty is a huge barrier to economic progress in developing countries. He added that access to modern energy services is critical to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and, underlining that government action is not sufficient, emphasized the need to engage all stakeholders, including the private sector, in pursuing this goal. Yumkella concluded by calling for increased energy efficiency and increased investment in renewable energy sources, which together will help “build the clean energy economy of the future.”

The Rio+Solutions campaign was launched by the UN Foundation and Devex to raise awareness of key global challenges and solutions ahead of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), and features guest articles on various issues such as sustainability and the green economy. [Publication: Sustainable Development Is Not Possible Without Sustainable Energy]