LIVE: World leaders pledge to power humanity with clean energy

11:00

Some key commitments

This morning several worlds leaders announced new energy commitments. Here is a selection:

Denmark committed to reduce 70 per cent of CO2 emissions by 2030 (compared to 1990), and produce all of its electricity from renewable energy by 2028. Oil and gas extraction will end by 2050 and, by 2030, the country will spend at least $500 million on climate finance every year.

Malawi is targeting universal access to cleaner cooking for households and institutions, and plans to phase out open fires by 2030, with two million cleaner cookstoves reached by 2025, and an investment of more than $596 million.

In the private sector, energy company Enel said it would invest $104 billion in clean energy access, speed up its coal phase-out to 2027, triple renewable energy generation to 145GW by 2030 and provide more than four million electric vehicle charging points and 10,000 electric buses by 2030.

There is more to come this morning, including a highly anticipated statement from John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate for the United States, one of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters.

10:30

A zero sum game

The first topic being covered today concerns universal access to energy, and how to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions (the term “net zero” means that, whilst greenhouse gas emissions are not eliminated, they are offset by the amount of emissions that are removed from the atmosphere

In its latest update on progress towards SDG7, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), an independent, UN-backed body which is the lead organizer of the event, notes that gains in energy access throughout Africa are being reversed, and predicted that, at the current rate, some 660 million people will still be without electricity by 2030.

A UN report on this subject, produced for this event, makes several recommendations on how to reach these goals, including new financing for clean cooking tools, and policies to bring about sustainable energy for all, centred around the real needs of people.

Energy patriots

The Indonesian government is putting some of these ideas into practice, and has begun bringing clean electricity to rural communities, thanks to a project backed by the UN. The programme involves the installation of off-grid solar- power plants, which will provide electricity for around 20,000 people in remote villages.

It’s being overseen by a group of Indonesians dubbed “energy patriots”, who have been tasked with boosting the use of clean energy resources, with the goal of improving access to healthcare, education, and economic development in rural villages.

Although the project is only meeting a fraction of Indonesia’s total unmet needs, with millions still to be reached, the programme serves as a blueprint for rural development that goes beyond basic socio-economic support. Find out more here.

10:20

The clean cooking crisis

Although it doesn’t get as much attention as the renewable energy transition, the lack of clean cooking tools is an urgent crisis that, according to Chebet Lesan, CEO of a Kenyan social enterprise called Bright Green.

Ms. Lesan, named a “young environmental hero” by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), created Bright Green to make eco-friendly fuel from recycled waste, as an alternative to charcoal, which contributes to deforestation and environmental destruction.

In her remarks to the HLDE, Ms. Lesan said that some three billion people do not have access to clean cooking energy, which leads to millions of premature deaths

Because of this, she added, cooking is a dangerous, expensive transaction for many, which causes greenhouse gas emissions and destroys natural resources.

Ms. Lesan called for the support of world leaders who, she said, need to commit to new policies that encourage the growth of clean cooking. “Global problem needs a global solution”, she said. “Clean cooking must be prioritised”.

10:10

Of course, the transition to clean energy is not going to be cheap and the President of the UN General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, in his address to the meeting said: “A substantial increase in clean energy finance is essential for all countries, but particularly [those] where energy poverty equates to poverty”.

He added that 2.6 billion people are still relying on harmful fuels for cooking and that of the estimated $4.4 billion needed to achieve universal access to clean cooking, “only $32 million has been made available”.

09:45

'The age of renewable energy access for all must start today'

We’ve just heard the introductory remarks of UN Secretary-General António Guterres to the high-level Dialogue on Energy (henceforth referred to in this blog as HLDE!).

Mr. Guterres, describing the event as long overdue (the last such event took place 40 years ago), outlined some of the main elements of the energy crisis facing the world: close to 760 million people without access to electricity, some 2.6 billion people lack access to clean cooking solutions, and how we produce and use energy is the main cause of the climate crisis (emissions from energy account for about 75 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions).

The key to this crisis, he said is clean, affordable energy for all: solar energy is the cheapest power source in most countries, and provides more jobs than the fossil fuel sector.

Without it, he warned, billions of people will be condemned to more poverty and more ill-health while the ecosystems we all rely on collapse, and he called on all countries – especially major emitters – to make clean energy commitments, along with the major players from the world of business and finance.

The UN chief outlined four priorities for a sustainable energy future: cutting in half the number of people without access to electricity by 2025; rapidly shifting to clean energy sources; achieve universal energy access by 2030; and ensure that no one is left behind in the race to a net zero future.

“We cannot wait another 40 years”, concluded Mr. Guterres. “The age of renewable, affordable energy access for all must start today”.

09:30

The High-level Dialogue on Energy has just begun, and we will soon hear opening remarks from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the President of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, and business leaders.

This will be followed by statements from world leaders on the commitments they are making to switch to clean energy in the coming years.

You can watch the whole event live on UN Web TV, here.

09:15

Electric dreams

In a sign of how the acceptance of clean energy is becoming mainstream, the motor industry, long the preserve of so-called “petrolheads” has accelerated plans to go electric, and consign the combustion engine to history.

Many of the biggest car manufacturers now have teams in the Formula E electric racing championship, the only sport to be certified net zero carbon since its inception.

Before this event starts, take a few minutes to listen to this episode of the flagship UN News podcast, The Lid Is On, in which we spoke to some of the major players involved in Formula E, to find out what the sport, and the industry, are doing to popularise the idea of electric transport.

09:00

The Energy Compacts

Several energy commitments were already made in the months building up to today’s event. Back in June, some 50 ministers outlined plans to reduce emissions, and ensure that all people, especially those in developing countries, have access to sustainable electricity.

National Energy Compacts – voluntary actions pledged to achieve clean, affordable energy for all by 2030 – were previewed by ministers from Brazil, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Germany, India, Nauru and the Netherlands.

An Energy Compact setting a regional target of 70 per cent renewable energy in the power mix for Latin America, was signed by Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and the Inter-American Development Bank, with other countries in the region invited to join.

Important commitments came from The IKEA Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation, which announced plans for a $1 billion fund to boost access to renewable energy in developing countries; from GOGLA, a global association for the off-grid solar energy industry, which committed to delivering improved electricity access for 1 billion people by 2030; and the Association for Rural Electricity, which said it would work with the private sector to deliver sustainable electricity services to at least 500 million additional people.

More high-profile commitments are expected today, so watch this space!

08:45

A big ask

To have any chance of beating the climate crisis, it will be essential to radically upend the energy mix, slashing the proportion of fossil fuels that currently dominate energy production, and ramping up the use of renewables.

This is a big ask, and will require a significant step up in political will for change. Today’s event is taking place during the high-level General Debate of the UN General Assembly, which saw important commitments made by China and the US, the world’s largest economies, towards advancing the transition towards a clean economy.

US President Joe Biden committed to significantly increase the country’s international climate financing to approximately $11.4 billion a year, a proportion of which will go towards ramping up investments in renewable energy sources.

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, used his address to the General Assembly to announce end all financing of coal fired power plants abroad and, instead support green and low carbon energy.

In a statement released in response to the U.S. and China announcements, UN chief António Guterres flagged that there is still a long way to go and that, based on Member States’ current emission reduction commitments, “the world is on a catastrophic pathway to 2.7 degrees of heating”.

This is the backdrop to today’s conference, which is expected to see several new energy commitments made. Stay with us for the highlights!

08:30

Welcome to this LIVE blog of the High-level Dialogue on Energy, which begins in about an hour’s time (that’s 09:30 Eastern Time) 

It’s being billed as an important opportunity to decisively split from the world’s dependence on fossil fuels, but will commitments on clean energy made at the UN in New York be enough to halt the rise in global temperatures?

Over the next few hours, we will take you through some of the most important commitments being made by world leaders, and the difference these Energy Compacts will make to the planet, and to people’s lives. We’ll hear from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the President of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, as well as business and youth leaders.