By
Green Tech Lead Team: His Excellency Ban Ki-moon,
secretary-general of the United Nations, will launch the International Year of
Sustainable Energy for All at World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2012.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will address Heads of State and international
delegates at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.
WFES is the world’s foremost annual meeting committed to
promoting advancement of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and the water and
waste sectors. More than 26,000 attendees, including 3,000 delegates, 650
exhibiting companies and 20 national pavilions, will participate this year.
“I expect this Summit to bring forth serious commitments
to the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative …. commitments that reduce energy
poverty, foster economic dynamism, and protect our planet,” said the
secretary-general.
The secretary-general has set three objectives for his
Initiative to be achieved by 2030: ensure universal access to modern energy
services; double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and double the
share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
The Initiative is mobilizing commitments from business,
the financial sector, government, and civil society in the run-up to the Rio+20
Conference on Sustainable Development, seeking to catalyze actions across the
public and private sector that further his objectives.
According to the United Nations, more than 1.4 billion
people worldwide have no access to electricity, approximately 3 billion people
rely on traditional biomass for cooking and heating and up to a billion more
have access only to unreliable electricity networks. The “energy-poor” suffer
economic consequences of insufficient power for productive income-generating
activities and for other basic services such as health and education.
“The World Future Energy Summit brings together the key
stakeholders needed to make both the Initiative and the International Year of
Sustainable Energy for All a success,” the secretary-general added.
At another related event, CraigMichaels recently
announced President Bill Clinton will deliver the
keynote address at the 2012 Sustainable Operations Summit.
editor@greentechlead.com