The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has announced a partnership with the General Secretariat of the Central American Integration System (SG-SICA) to create a Mesoamerican Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (MCREEE).
Once established, MCREEE will be part of the UNIDO-coordinated Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centers and will help countries in the region to develop sustainable energy markets, industries and innovation.
29 February 2016: The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has announced a partnership with the General Secretariat of the Central American Integration System (SG-SICA) to create a Mesoamerican Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (MCREEE). Once established, MCREEE will be part of the UNIDO-coordinated Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres and will help countries in the region to develop sustainable energy markets, industries and innovation.
MCREEE will provide technical support through capacity development, knowledge management and exchange. It will feature programmes on technology, policy and legislation, and investment and business promotion. It is also envisioned as a hub for technical coordination, donor harmonization and documentation of lessons learned, enabling long-term sustainability of project interventions. In the coming months, SG-SICA and UNIDO intend to conduct a consultative preparatory process, including workshops and a needs assessment, to determine the Centre’s added value and technical and institutional design. The process will also result in a project document for the first operational phase.
The mandate for MCREEE stems from a request from the SICA Council of Energy Ministers of 8 December 2015, directing the General Secretariat to begin preparing for such a centre. SICA views access to energy services as a human right, requiring respect for the environment and future generations. In this context, the objective of MCREEE aligns with the goals of the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Both SE4All and SDG 7 focus on universal energy access, energy efficiency and renewable energy.
UNIDO’s Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres is a South-South partnership with various regional organizations working around the world, including in Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean. The creation of MCREEE is being support financially by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). [UNIDO Press Release] [SG-SICA Press Release] [Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres Webpage]