23 October 2013, Copenhagen, Denmark – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for a clean energy transformation to help put the world on a more sustainable path, stressing that this will require innovation, investment and collaboration by all partners.
“Achieving a clean energy transformation will need the combined efforts of governments, multilateral investment banks, private finance, civil society, the knowledge community and the private sector,” Mr. Ban said in a keynote address at the Third Global Green Growth Forum in Copenhagen. “We are partners on a path to sustainability… But we have no time to waste.”
He noted that the way energy is produced and used is “the dominant cause” of climate change. “The impact on our global economy is increasingly clear. We count the cost in human lives and economic loss,” he stated. “But, we are forging solutions together all over the world.”
In September 2011, the Secretary-General launched the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, which aims to achieve three inter-linked global targets by 2030: universal access to modern energy services; the doubling of energy efficiency; and the doubling of the share of renewable energy in the world’s energy mix.
“Each of these objectives serves a common end: clean, low-carbon growth. This is critical for sustainable development,” said Mr. Ban.
He highlighted the fact that the world is fast approaching a triple deadline. The target date for achieving the global anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) falls at end of 2015. World leaders have also agreed on 2015 as the year for establishing a new sustainable development framework and reaching an agreement on climate change.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with Denmark’s Minister for Development Cooperation, Christian Friis Bach. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meets with the International Pension Funds which was hosted by Bjarne Corydon, Minister for Finance, Denmark. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with Denmark’s Minister for Finance, Bjarne Corydon. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the meeting with the International Pension Funds. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
