UN calls for global revolution to ensure clean energy for all
(January 18, 2011) With 1.6 billion people in developing countries still lacking
access to electricity, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a global revolution
to address the world’s energy challenges. “Our challenge is transformation. We need
a global clean energy revolution, a revolution that makes energy available and affordable
for all,” Ban said in his address on Monday to the Fourth World Future Energy Summit
in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. “This is essential for minimizing climate risks,
for reducing poverty and improving global health, for empowering women and meeting
the Millennium Development Goals for global economic growth, peace and security, and
the health of the planet,” he added. Ban has set the deadline for 2012. The UN
Secretary-General stressed that the decisions taken now will have far-reaching consequences.
In 20 years, he noted, energy consumption will rise by 40 per cent, mostly in developing
countries, where 1.6 billion people still lack access to electricity, and where 3
billion people rely on traditional biomass fuels for cooking, heating, and other basic
household needs. Last month the UN General Assembly decided to proclaim 2012 as
the “International Year for Sustainable Energy for All” with the aim of promoting
new and renewable energy technologies, including measures to improve access to such
technologies. In addition to the 3 billion people who still rely on traditional
biomass fuels and coal,Ban highlighted the fact that 2 million people, mostly women
and children, die every year due to indoor air pollution – nearly double the number
of deaths worldwide from malaria.