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UN Chronicle - Volume 52, Issue 3, 2013
Volume 52, Issue 3, 2013
A must-read for every concerned world citizen, the United Nations Chronicle is a quarterly, easy-to-read report on the work of the United Nations and its agencies. Produced by the United Nations Department of Public Information, every issue covers a wide range of United Nations related activities: from fighting the drug war to fighting racial discrimination, from relief and development to nuclear disarmament, terrorism, and the worldwide environmental crisis.
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From COP21 to the new urban agenda
Author: Joan ClosWe are just a few days away from the opening of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21). A new climate agreement is an important stepping stone for the implementation of the global sustainable development agenda. Besides achieving an ambitious climate agreement, addressing climate financing and galvanizing action by all relevant stakeholders are further crucial elements of a successful COP21. This is a prime opportunity to move forward on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to pave the way for a more sustainable future.
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The future role of SE4All in promoting sustainable energy
Author: Rachel KyteSustainable Energy for All (SE4All) is a call for both revolution and reform: a radical vision where everyone can access and afford the reliable energy they need to live a productive, healthy, secure life, while respecting the planetary constraints that we all face as a result of climate change.
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How renewable energy can be cost-competitive
Author: Adnan Z. AminAs Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), I accepted with pleasure the opportunity to write about the remarkable transformation of the energy sector by renewable energy technologies. The topic was suggested to me in the gracious invitation by the UN Chronicle, and we will come to it in a moment, for it says a lot about where renewable energy is today and how it is perceived.
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Financing sustainable energy for all
Author: Anita Marangoly GeorgeFor the global community, universal sustainable energy must be a top priority. We owe it to the 1.1 billion people still living without electricity and the 2.9 billion people still using polluting biomass fuels for cooking and heating. Energy is fundamental to ending poverty as it underpins economic growth and progress in all areas of development–from food security to clean water, education, jobs and health care.
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The impact of renewable energy technologies on global energy efficiency
Authors: Christine Lins and Hannah E. MurdockDespite growing energy use, for the first time in four decades, global carbon emissions associated with energy consumption remained stable in 2014 as the global economy grew. This stabilization has in part been attributed to increased penetration of renewable energy and to improvements in energy efficiency, both of which have experienced dramatic acceleration in recent years.
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The role of fossil fuels in a sustainable energy system
Authors: Scott Foster and David ElzingaClimate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Equally important, however, is the need to ensure access to energy for quality of life and for economic development. It is therefore critical to address climate change as part of the sustainable development agenda. Ongoing progress in the development of new technologies has brought confidence and hope that these objectives will be met in the energy system. Dramatic price reductions and technological advancement of wind generators and solar photovoltaics have shown that these renewable energy resources can be important players in global electricity systems, and that the longanticipated breakthrough in cost-effective storage technology would shift primary energy mixes substantially.
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Sustainable energy for all: Empowering women
Author: Neha MisraSolar Sister is an award-winning social enterprise advancing women’s entrepreneurship to bring off-grid electricity and clean cooking solutions to underserved communities across sub-Saharan Africa. Neha Misra, Solar Sister’s Co-Founder and Chief Collaboration Officer shares insights on why achieving the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All objectives and women’s empowerment are intrinsically tied together.
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Sustainable urban energy is the future
Authors: Laura Phillips and Pete SmithOver the last 20 years, urban areas have experienced dramatic growth. Currently, over 3.5 billion people inhabit urban areas (approximately half of the global population). Developing countries in particular are undergoing rapid change from rural to urban-based economies as they are transformed by their urbanizing populations (UN-HABITAT, ICLEI, and UNEP, 2009, p. 7). Although the extent of urbanization in developing countries differs in magnitude and pace, their challenge is to stabilize a growing hunger for secure energy supplies, construct bridges of access, equity and empowerment, minimize environmental degradation, enhance human health and livelihoods, and craft new development directions (Droege, 2008, p. 1).
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SDG 7 and sustainable energy development in Latin America and the Caribbean
Author: Susan McDadeLooking back on the recent 70th anniversary of the United Nations and the monumental adoption of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is necessary to pause and recognize the historic achievement of the inclusion of SDG 7 on energy in the new agenda. This incorporation of sustainable energy within the SDGs framework is nothing short of a demonstration of the influence of the United Nations and its Member States in transforming world perspectives on crucial issues, and in setting new norms and universal values while solving many global challenges found in today’s politics, economics and environmental debates.
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The road to a sustainable energy future in Central America
Author: Ana María MajanoWhen the first Climatescope report was published by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American Development Bank and Bloomberg New Energy Finance in 2012, it may have been surprising to many people that a Central American country ranked second among Latin American States in the index evaluating the investment climate for clean energy, yielding only to Brazil. Perhaps even more unexpected was the fact that it was Nicaragua, a country that only a decade before had the highest percentage of fossil fuel-based electricity generation in the region (almost 80 per cent). Also among the top 10 ranking countries were Panama (3rd), Costa Rica (8th) and Guatemala (9th)
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Developing renewable energy sectors and technologies in West Africa
Author: Karin ReissBy the time Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, which seeks to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, the member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had already rolled out their regional road map and presented their national action agendas to attain it. The region seems to be on the fast track to getting out of the energy poverty trap.
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Achieving sustainable energy targets in Bangladesh
Author: Hossain MohammadBangladesh is a country of 147,570 km2 with a population of 159 million. The country has shown tremendous growth in recent years, and has attained an average gross domestic product growth rate of 6 per cent. Booming economic growth, rapid urbanization, and expanding industrialization and development have increased the country’s demand for electricity. It is recognized that energy is the key ingredient to alleviate poverty and to improve the socioeconomic condition of the people of Bangladesh. The vision of the Government is to make electricity available for all by 2021. In order to fulfill the vision, the Government has given topmost priority to the power sector and has prepared short-, medium- and long-term power generation plans using gas, coal, duel fuel, nuclear and renewable energy resources. Renewable energy will play a vital role in meeting the demand for electricity, especially in the off-grid areas of the country. The Government has set a target to generate 5 per cent of the total electricity supply from renewable energy resources by 2015 and 10 per cent by 2020. To achieve this goal, the Government has taken up a number of renewable energy programmes.
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Iceland’s sustainable energy story: A model for the world?
Author: Halla Hrund LogadóttirIn an era when climate change is making it necessary for countries around the world to implement sustainable energy solutions, Iceland presents a unique situation. Today, almost 100 per cent of the electricity consumed in this small country of 330,000 people comes from renewable energy. In addition, 9 out of every 10 houses are heated directly with geothermal energy. The story of Iceland’s transition from fossil fuels may serve as an inspiration to other countries seeking to increase their share of renewable energy. Was Iceland’s transition a special case that is difficult to replicate, or can it be applied as a model for the rest of the world?
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Atomic power – Saving lives
Author: Siouxzanna DownsIn 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the world. These are summarized broadly as ending poverty, ensuring access to food, clean water, energy, global health and education, achieving gender equality, securing decent work for all, building resilient infrastructure, reducing income inequality, promoting urban development, sustainable consumption and production, finding climate change solutions, preserving the oceans, preventing deforestation, and implementing frameworks to reach these goals, including the creation of a global partnership for sustainable development.
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Sustainable development goal for energy and information and communications technologies
Authors: Vijay Modi and Hernan Pedro FigueroaThe provision of energy services–such as illumination, thermal comfort, cooking, communications and mobility–is critical to both social and economic good. But the use of fossil fuels in meeting these needs can also lead to higher greenhouse gases emissions, potentially becoming a threat to our well-being. Ironically, the greatest threat is to underdeveloped nations and populations of the most vulnerable geographies of small island developing States. They are either constrained by extreme poverty or limited by expensive energy access. The year 2015 marked a significant milestone in the global debate on energy with United Nations adoption of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the specific goal on energy (SDG 7) aiming “to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. SDG 7 also addresses the need to increase energy from renewable sources as well as promote energy efficiency technologies. Consequently, SDG 7 encompasses targets for universal energy access (7.1), renewable energy growth (7.2), energy efficiency improvements (7.3), international cooperation in sustainable energy infrastructure development (7.a) and technology upgrades and expansion of energy systems (7.b).
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