United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging improved energy efficiency and access to clean energy in a bid to tackle poverty and climate change. A report from the UN’s high-level Energy and Climate Change Advisory Group, which Ban Ki-moon set up last year and comprises business leaders, academics and UN representatives, is calling on nations around the world to commit to two key goals. The first priority should be universal access to reliable, affordable, sustainable and, if possible, low-emission energy supply by 2030. A well performing energy system will help lift the world’s poorest out of poverty and help developing economies grow, which according to the World Bank lose up to 2% of potential growth every year through power cuts and inefficient use of energy.
The second challenge should be for all developed nations to cut energy intensity, the amount of energy per unit of gross domestic product (GDP), by 2.5% every year, says the report.
“We need a clean energy revolution – in developing countries, where demand is rising rapidly, and in the developed world, in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions,” said the Secretary-General at the report launch in New York on Wednesday.
Director-General of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Kandeh K. Yumkella, echoed Ban Ki-moon’s comments adding that the need for greater energy efficiency is widely acknowledged.
“These are ambitious goals, but I think they are achievable and necessary,” Ban Ki-moon added.
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