New York, 22 April 2024
Speech delivered by: Ligia Noronha
On behalf of Inger Andersen at UN General Assembly Global stocktaking marking the completion of the UN Decade of Sustainable Energy for All
I am pleased participate in today’s debate. My thanks to the President of the General Assembly for organizing this very successful week.
When it comes to energy, we face what seems to be a dilemma. On the one hand, climate change is hitting harder every year, so greenhouse gas emissions must fall. And quickly. On the other hand, we need to end energy poverty, which would drive up emissions if we hold fast to the current energy system.
This dilemma is a mirage that fades away when we look closer. We do not have to choose between one thing or another: between closing the energy gap and slowing climate change. We do not need to choose between people, planet and prosperity. All can be elevated by expanding access to clean, efficient and affordable energy. It is in this mutually beneficial space that I would like to focus today.
Increasing access to sustainable energy will boost human health, livelihoods, security and educational achievements. It will lighten the burden on women and children. It will reduce the deadly air pollution that shrouds our cities. It will slow climate change and build resilience to impacts already here.
The need to reform the energy system and deliver these many benefits have been acknowledged in many places, implicitly and explicitly. Through Sustainable Development Goal 7. Through many multilateral environment agreements that are impacted by how we use energy – from climate to biodiversity to pollution. Through the UN General Assembly enshrining the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment – which will not be possible to fulfil in a world powered by fossil fuels.
So, we must now start to bring home the many benefits of a clean energy system by increasing spending on the right services for people, planet and prosperity.
Let’s look at some key action areas.
One, renewable energy.
Tripling renewables by 2030, as agreed at COP28, is essential to closing the energy access gap in a sustainable manner. The cost of renewable energy is falling, making it competitive with fossil fuels. But the cost of capital is many times higher in poorer countries. Finance will be essential to overcome challenges such as high interest rates, high capital costs, high fossil fuel subsidies and the burden of debt servicing that many energy-poor countries face.
Two, energy efficiency.
Energy efficiency is a crucial and cost-effective action that enhances energy availability while reducing externalities. A unit of energy saved means not having to produce it. By removing barriers to investment in energy-efficient appliances, we can significantly reduce operational energy consumption in buildings worldwide, thereby lowering emissions, electricity bills and peak loads. In particular, sectors such as lighting, refrigeration, air conditioning and electric motors can bring substantial gains. Urban areas, buildings and construction offer great potential.
Three, sustainable cooling.
Cooling is essential to ensure access to food, medicines and vaccines while protecting against heat. To give one example, a lack of refrigeration is the major reason around 14 per cent of food is lost – at a time when 783 million people go hungry.
The installed capacity of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment is predicted to triple by 2050. To avoid an explosion in emissions, we need to adopt passive strategies to reduce cooling demand, higher energy efficiency standards, and accelerated phasedown of hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants under the Kigali Amendment.
The Global Cooling Pledge, launched by the COP28 Presidency, is a first step towards addressing this challenge.
Four, addressing short-lived climate pollutants.
Methane. Black carbon. Ground-level ozone. Nitrous Oxide. These pollutants are a persistent threat to the climate, to our air, to human health and to crops.
We know that reducing methane emissions is a powerful way to slow global warming. The international community has acknowledged this and set targets through the Global Methane Pledge. But we cannot neglect other short-lived climate pollutants. Funding to address them all, including Nitrous Oxide, the most significant greenhouse gas after CO2 and methane, must rise.
Friends,
There are, of course, key overarching enabling factors to deliver on the energy transition.
We will need financing across the board. For example, the financing gap for renewable energy is USD 724-774 billion per year. Repurposing fossil fuel subsidies is one part of a complex equation but, as many have pointed out, including Mia Motley, we need to change the narrative around debt sustainability and horizons to provide the right finance for people and planet.
To complete the energy transition and close the access gap, we will need a huge supply of minerals and metals to deploy wind, solar, energy storage and more. This is an opportunity for developing countries to invest in sustainable development by producing local value-add – rather than following colonial models of shipping raw materials to the global north. But we must also back circularity to reduce the need for primary mining.
And, of course, we will need partnerships. Through collaborative efforts that empower local communities, we can build the skills and infrastructure needed to navigate the transition to cleaner energy while safeguarding the well-being of communities, workers and ecosystems.
Friends,
The next round of Nationally Determined Contributions, due in 2025, will be an opportune moment to take these factors into account. By embedding targeted strategies into nationally driven roadmaps, accompanied by investment-ready implementation plans, we can ensure tangible progress across all fronts. Close the energy access gap. Slow climate change. And improve health, equity and prosperity for people across the planet.
Thank you.
Source – UNEP