When it comes to energy, we face what seems like a dilemma.
On one hand, climate change is hitting harder every year. This year, we heard the strong warning from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and saw the impacts in floods, wildfires and droughts. Many, perhaps for the first time, realized that no one is safe. The updated climate promises under the Paris Agreement aren’t good enough to prevent dangerous warming that will bring more disruption. To get back on track for the 1.5°C goal, emissions from the energy sector need to be halved by 2030 and eliminated by 2050.
On the other hand, we need to end energy poverty. Despite significant progress, an estimated 660 million people will still lack access to electricity in 2030, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. To provide energy equity and connectivity for all, we have to rapidly expand energy access. This would mean more greenhouse gas emissions and more pain if we followed current energy models.
But, in truth, there is no dilemma. We can expand access to energy and cut emissions at the same time, if we accelerate the transition to a clean, efficient and affordable energy system.
UNEP’s Emissions Gap research has shown that the energy sector can cut 12.5 gigatonnes off its annual emissions – about a quarter of total global annual emissions. And the benefits of the energy transition do not stop at climate change. Investing in the energy transition would create three times more jobs than similar investment in fossil fuels. To give one specific example, building efficiency retrofits and efficient new buildings can create 9-30 jobs per million dollars of spending. This is the most cost-efficient job measure in the energy sector. And, of course, providing clean and efficient energy will reduce air pollution, help with quality education and healthcare, and provide many other social benefits.
We all know about the role of renewable energy in the transition. We have to accelerate the development and spread of renewables, including through technology transfer that will help nations meet their conditional Nationally Determined Contributions. But we cannot place enough emphasis on the need for an accompanying push on energy efficiency. If we keep using energy in the same wasteful way, demand will grow to the point that grids powered by clean energy will not be able to cope. Better and more efficient technologies already exist – including those nature has put at our disposal for millennia, such as the natural cooling effect of greenery. We need to use them.
All of this obvious potential is why UNEP places so much focus on clean and efficient energy, working with countries, cities, sectors and communities to enable the energy transition.
Our work with partners shows what we can achieve if we act in a comprehensive and integrated way. We support solutions that act across sectors, innovative technologies, policy and finance tools, and that bring nature into the equation.
There are many examples of transformative work. With UNEP’s support, Rwanda started to implement a National Action Plan on Sustainable Cooling. Ghana launched a financial mechanism that supports ordinary citizens to purchase highly efficient cooling products. We are creating roadmaps for the decarbonization of energy in buildings and construction – including through green procurement, passive design, and natural cooling solutions like green roofs and deep retrofits.
Friends, the launch of the Dialogue’s Energy Compacts gives us a chance to rally around such solutions and accelerate action on transformational opportunities.
I call on everyone to join the Urban Energy Coalition, recently launched by UNEP, Mission Innovation, Global Covenant of Mayors, World Economic Forum (WEF) and REN21. This coalition will help cities to reduce their energy use through providing practical frameworks and tools. The Cool Coalition is another great initiative that is making a difference. This coalition works on sustainable cooling and cold chains – which will cut energy use and expand access to systems that reduce food waste and loss and store life-saving vaccines. There are many more opportunities, too many to list.
The point is that we know what we need to do. We know how to do it. And the support and collaborative networks we need are all in place. It is time for words and good intentions to become immediate and meaningful action. We have a duty of care – to the planet and to every person upon it. We must fulfil it by making our energy system clean, efficient and affordable.
Thank you.
Executive Director
