Secretary-General Tells Advisory Board Meeting to Bolster Action for Achieving Universal Energy Access, Doubling Share of Renewables in Global Mix

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message to the Sustainable Energy for All Advisory Board meeting, held in New York today:

I am pleased to welcome all of you to this Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) Advisory Board meeting.  I regret that I am not able to be with you in person this time.

I applaud all of you for your strong commitment to the SE4All initiative.  I commend Mr. Kandeh Yumkella for his leadership.  As he prepares to leave, I would like to wish him continued good success in the future.  I am sure he will remain a true champion of SE4All.

This year, we can flip the switch to light up a new future.  2015 is a time for global action.

Countries will adopt a new set of sustainable development goals (SDGs) — and a new, universal agreement on climate change.  Sustainable energy can deliver results on these twin priorities.

We must do everything possible to realize the SE4All goals:  achieving universal energy access; doubling energy efficiency; and doubling renewable energy in the global energy mix.

Even before the SDGs are adopted, I hope you will forge a strategy for their energy proposals.  I encourage you to intensify work on national action and investment plans.  And I call for scaling up public-private partnerships, such as energy efficiency accelerators and expanding plans for renewables building on REmap 2030.

I also urge you to act on the recommendations of the Advisory Board’s Finance Committee to help catalyse investment.  I encourage members of this Advisory Board to boost your support for SE4All.  This is critical as it transitions to a new institutional arrangement.

I wish you great success — for the millions of people who will benefit from progress on energy, and for our common future.