Solution Forum 6: Energy, Climate Change and Energy Access

Clean, reliable and affordable energy services are indispensable for global prosperity, achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and tackling climate change challenges. Energy makes a profound impact on multiple aspects of human development, such as poverty, gender, equality, health, food security and environment. Without energy in rural areas, food and agriculture are adversely affected, clinics and schools are obstructed to providing services, and opportunities to generate additional income are easily lost.  It is now widely acknowledged that the Millennium Development Goals cannot be fulfilled without first meeting the energy needs of the poor; and yet an astounding 1.3 billion people worldwide lack access to electricity while 2.7 billion people still rely on traditional biomass for cooking and heating. Many of the world’s poorest will never be reached, in their lifetime, through centralized national energy systems alone if a ‘business as usual’ approach to energy planning continues. In this aspect, renewable energy resources provide indigenous, sustainable and environmentally safe energy pools which could enable countries to gain freedom from costly import burdens of fossil fuels and reduce the carbon footprints.

Universal access to energy can be realized by 2030 with strong engagement from all actors, including governments and public sector organizations, private sector organizations, civil society, community-based organizations and energy users. Many sustainable projects have been implemented to address energy poverty in rural areas; however their success has not been easily replicated. South-South Cooperation may easily address this challenge of replicating development solutions in the energy sector through knowledge sharing of documented and packaged solutions, ensuring that existing development solutions in the area of sustainable energy is showcased and made known. While knowledge and solutions-exchange (especially between countries facing comparable challenges) is widely recognized as a tool for replicating development solutions in the Global South, there is a strong clamor to document and showcase these development solutions that are readily accessible and can be speedily replicated on the ground.

The objective of this panel is to bring together speakers from government, private sector, civil society, and other development partners from the South to showcase energy access solutions on the ground. Presentations and panel discussion can highlight various themes related to energy access such as technology and innovative solutions, financing, role of public policy, partnerships (including PPP and triangular cooperation). It will be an opportunity to share and exchange South-South development solutions to the complex challenges of poverty and climate change.