European Commission’s Commitment to Sustainable Energy for All

In order to achieve sustainable development, access to energy is a prerequisite in developing countries, yet the ability of these nations to put their development on a sustainable pathway is often hindered by a lack of experience or technical expertise.

A Commitment to 500 Million People

As part of their commitment to achieving the objectives of the “Sustainable Energy for All” initiative, the European Commission (EC) recently announced their “Energizing Development Initiative”, which will provide developing countries with the support they need to assist them in providing access to sustainable energy. With the help of the EC, developing countries that sign on to the initiative will have the opportunity to adopt cleaner, more efficient technology from the start, leapfrogging technologies and infrastructure that developed countries established in the past. The goal of the initiative is to provide energy services to 500 million people by 2030, by empowering developing countries through program elements such as: The creation of a world-class Technical Assistance Facility, drawing upon EU experts to develop technical expertise in developing countries. A focus on refining, expanding and improving energy-related innovative financial instruments and risk guarantee schemes in developing countries in order to unlock greater private investment. An effort to mobilize an additional several hundred million euros to support concrete new investments in sustainable energy in developing countries, with the goal of leveraging even greater flows of additional investment from the private sector.

Ending Energy Poverty

The EU is the largest provider of development assistance in the world, and the Energizing Development Initiative is another way that the EU is playing a critical role in efforts to end energy poverty around the globe. This strong commitment will help reach the half way mark of achieving the Secretary-General’s objective of universal energy access by 2030, and is positively contributing to the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative’s goals of catalyzing economic growth, ending energy poverty, expanding social equity and protecting the environment.