by Savanna Henderson, Humanitas Global
With the closing of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) period, it is time to look towards the Sustainable Development Goals, which will be finalized this September. One proposed goal that was missing in the MDG’s is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. The implications of using unsustainable, traditional energy impacts the globe, causing environmental and health problems that could be avoided.
1.2 billion people do not have access to electricity with 95% living in sub-Saharan and developing Asia, areas with a high prevalence of hunger and poverty. Without access to electricity, clean water, sanitation and healthcare are nearly impossible to provide.
2.8 million people rely on wood, biomass or animal waste to cook and heat their homes. Annually, 4 million premature deaths and millions of illnesses and burns are linked to household air pollution caused by open fired and traditional cookstoves. Furthermore, biomass collection contributes to environmental degradation as forests are diluted by generational harvest. Typically, it is women who are responsible for gathering fuel and water, and as forests become smaller and the distance traveled longer, women’s ability to earn an income is further reduced. As resources dwindle, food availability is reduced while income and social progress stagnate, reinforcing the cycle of poverty.
As a response to these poverty-driven problems, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented his vision for making sustainable energy a global reality by 2030. In 2011, he launched the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative to mobilize action from all sectors of society to support:
1. Providing universal access to modern energy services
2. Doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency
3. Doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
The overarching mission of SE4ALL is to provide energy that is accessible, clean, more efficient and affordable, especially for the poor.
SE4ALL has identified high- impact opportunities that allow for stakeholders from the private sector, public sector, and civil society to work together on in creating and advancing sustainable energy. Some of the included opportunities are clean energy mini-grids, modern cooking appliances and fuels, transportation, and capacity building and knowledge sharing.
Projects surrounding clean cooking solutions can reduce household air pollution, empower women, create income opportunities while reducing environmental degradation and climate change stemming from the negative impacts of the use of wood for cooking. Learn more about clean cooking solutions and sustainable energy enterprises in Senegal by watching the video below:
While clean cooking solutions exist, it is necessary for policy and national planning to adopt and prioritize resources that will put these and other sustainable energy opportunities at the forefront. SE4ALL takes the lead in developing initiatives to make that happen. The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is an alliance of more than 650 donors, governments, manufacturers, NGOs, women’s groups, universities, and UN agencies that coordinates global efforts to expedite adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels. As such, the Alliance serves as a vehicle for SE4ALL’s clean energy promotion and access initiatives. To ensure positive financial, social, and environmental returns on stoves and fuel, the Alliance addresses awareness, investment, research, standards, technology, manufacturing, and adoption gaps within the market so that clean energy and stoves can be adopted in millions of households.
Both the SE4ALL initiative and the proposed Sustainable Development Goal on energy, strive to improve global energy efficiency and access to sustainable energy. Renewable energy reduces the negative impact on the environment and provides an affordable, sustainable and clean source of energy to the poor. For individuals reliant on fuel collection, typically burdened to women, renewable energy frees up time to attend school or pursue jobs and income-generating opportunities.
To learn more about SE4ALL’s progress and goals visit, http://www.se4all.org/tracking-progress/ and stay tuned in as UN negotiators review the “zero draft” for the sustainable development goals that will be adopted by world leaders in September.
