Francesco Starace named new SEforALL Chair
VIENNA, 5 October: Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) today announced that Francesco Starace, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Enel S.p.A., has been appointed Chair of the SEforALL Administrative Board.
SEforALL is a non-profit international organization that works closely with the United Nations to accelerate and deliver at scale the solutions needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) – access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all – by 2030.
With less than 10 years to meet SDG7, and with increasing urgency for the world to get on track to meet the Paris Agreement climate goals, SEforALL’s role in driving a global clean energy transition has never been more important. Mr. Starace, who has been CEO and General Manager of Enel, one of the largest utilities in Europe, since May 2014, begins in the role with immediate effect.
Speaking on the announcement, Elizabeth Cousens, Vice-Chair of the SEforALL Administrative Board, and President and Chief Executive Officer of the UN Foundation, said: “Francesco is a visionary energy leader with a long track record in driving business ambition around climate action, sustainability, and energy access for hundreds of millions of people around the world who lack it . He is a natural choice for this important role at such a critical moment. With SEforALL’s unique mandate from the UN to drive SDG7 action in line with the Paris Agreement, his leadership can help support the organization go even further and faster to achieve our goal of universal energy access.”
As Chair of the Administrative Board - the principal governing body of the organization – Mr. Starace will help shape strategy and operations for the organization at the highest levels. Mr. Starace currently also serves as a member of the UN Global Compact Board of Directors and the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty. He previously served as a member of the former SEforALL Advisory Board and President of Eurelectric, the European association for the electricity industry.
Francesco Starace, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Enel S.p.A., said: “Energy must be at the heart of the global agenda to lead the world on a more sustainable pathway, focusing multi-stakeholder action especially on renewables and energy efficiency, which are key for delivering on the goals of energy access and climate mitigation. I am very proud to join SEforALL and to support its efforts for the clean energy transition and to work together toward achievement of SDG 7.
“My main objective as Chair of the SEforALL Administrative Board will be to cooperate with leading actors to accelerate the critical shift to a more sustainable, modern and accessible energy for all. I have great confidence in SEforALL leadership and its unique strengths to tackle the complexity of the energy challenges and to support ensuring the fundamental right to electricity for everyone, globally.”
The announcement comes after SEforALL recently released a new three-year business plan to help drive scaled action towards sustainable energy for development and energy transitions. The ambitious plan recognizes the need to strengthen global advocacy while expanding activities that prioritize data-driven decision-making, strategic partnerships and country-specific implementation.
Welcoming his appointment, Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy, said: “With ambitious action we can still achieve SDG7 by 2030, but the next few years are critical to increase energy access – especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. SEforALL’s leadership is pivotal to deliver this vision and why I’m delighted to welcome Francesco Starace as our new Chair of the Administrative Board. Francesco brings incredible experience that can help SEforALL deliver an energy transition that is truly inclusive, equitable and leaves no one behind.”
Mr. Starace’s full bio is available here.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Contact: For further details on the report or any interview requests, please contact:
SEforALL - Beth Woodthorpe-Evans: beth@SEforALL.org | +1 202 390 1042
Enel - Oana Gherasim: gnm@enel.com | +39 068 3051
About Sustainable Energy for All
Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) empowers leaders to broker partnerships and unlock finance to achieve universal access to sustainable energy, as a contribution to a cleaner, just and prosperous world for all. SEforALL exists to reduce the carbon intensity of energy while making it available to everyone on the planet.
For more information, follow @SEforALLorg
About Enel
Enel is a multinational power company and a leading integrated player in the global power, gas and renewables markets. It is the largest European utility by ordinary EBITDA, and is present in over 30 countries worldwide, producing energy with over 86 GW of installed capacity. Enel distributes electricity through a network of over 2.2 million kilometers, and with around 74 million business and household end users globally, the Group has the largest global customer base among its European peers. Enel’s renewables arm Enel Green Power is the world’s largest renewable private player, with around 46.4 GW of wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower plants installed in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Enel X, Enel's global advanced energy services business line, is the worldwide demand response leader, with a total capacity of over 6 GW managed globally; the company has installed 110 MW of storage capacity as well as, in the electric mobility sector, it has made available around 130,000 public and private EV charging points worldwide.