Civil Society Call: Energy for All 2030

Posted by Alessandra 21 Oct 2011

GVEP has joined a diverse group of 71 civil society organizations from Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa to call on EU leaders to commit to eradicating energy poverty and achieving universal energy access by 2030.

The campaign, headed by Practical Action, focuses on Sub-Saharan Africa, as the region most acutely affected, and calls for increased political will to deliver energy for all and the quantity and quality of EU funding to make this a reality.

 

The civil society representatives call on the EU to:

  • Endorse the UN objective of achieving universal access to modern energy services by
  • 2030, and to commit its fair share of the necessary resources to achieve this goal
  • Make energy access a key objective ahead of the Rio+20 Earth Summit
  • Ensure provision for universal energy access is incorporated into the new Multi-annual Financial Framework
  • Champion energy access in dialogue with Sub-Saharan African governments, as a catalyst for community, national and regional development
  • Use the pro-poor ACP-EU Energy Facility as a model for EU and global energy financing mechanisms and commit to a long-term, scaled-up Energy Facility beyond 2014
  • Adopt an action plan for EU contributions to universal energy access from now until 2030, including targets for annual financial contributions and regular evaluation of progress
  • Ensure that the Africa EU Energy Partnership prioritises energy access for the poor in its political targets and cooperation programmes and advocates investment in small-scale infrastructure and enhanced civil society engagement
  • Ensure the integration of energy access perspectives in its climate financing
     
The key principles underpinning the above demands are:
 
  • Increased quantity and quality of finance for energy access
  • Focus on poverty reduction and sustainable development as objectives central to energy delivery
  • Effective participation and consultation of local communities and civil society
  • Active consideration of the full range of energy services – including cooking, heating, cooling, access to information and communications, and energy for income generation
  • Harmonisation and coherence of goals and strategies of all relevant EU financing instruments and policies.
 
Over the next few weeks the Call will be sent to each of the European decision-makers targeted, requesting a written response and a physical meeting to maintain momentum on the dialogue around energy for development.
 
Ben Good, CEO of GVEP International welcomed the initiative: “The EU is a major champion of sustainable development and has a critical role to play in mobilising stakeholders to support the priorities of universal energy access,” he said
 
 
Praising the EU leadership on addressing the energy access issue, Ben Good saluted the EU for its co-funding of the Developing Energy Enterprises Project (DEEP), a multi-million five year initiative established in 2008 to support the development of a sustainable and widespread industry of micro and small energy enterprises in East Africa. Headed by GVEP, the programme works with over 800 energy entrepreneurs involved in expanding the modern energy market and providing access to clean energy to one million people.“This is an investment of just two euros per each person with access to energy whether that’s through purchasing a more efficient cooking stove or a solar powered device to light up a room or charge mobile phones. And in the process 500 new jobs have been created and about 200,000 tonnes of carbon emissions avoided,” he said.
 
Find out more about the Energy for All 2030 campaign here. Please help spread the message of the Call as widely as possible, please do consider promoting it though your professional and social network.