In New York, at the Commission on Sustainable Development - CSD15, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) held a side event on sustainable energy for poverty reduction and economic growth.

Vienna, May 22, 2007

In New York, at the Commission on Sustainable Development - CSD15, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) held a side event on sustainable energy for poverty reduction and economic growth.

Kandeh Yumkella, Director General of UNIDO, announced plans to create a Vienna Energy Forum comprised of all the intergovernmental agencies based in Vienna, such as UNIDO, IAEA, OPEC, IIASA and REEEP. The key themes for the forum would be energy access, energy efficiency and climate change.

Daudi Migereko, Minister of Energy from Uganda announced that his country would begin the process of enacting renewable energy legislation. Mr. Migereko is the chairman of the Forum of Energy Ministers of Africa (FEMA) and he called attention to the Maputo Declaration adopted by FEMA to develop sustainable energy sources.

Dr. Harish Hande from SELCO power in India presented the case for establishing linkages between energy services, income generation and finance. SELCO has developed models with local banks that allow micro-financing of renewable energy equipment to be secured by the increased revenues from services that result from the use of the equipment (e.g. solar-powered sewing machines).

Norway's State Secretary, Anita Utseth stated that REEEP's demand driven, bottom-up approaches are essential to building trust between developed and developing countries. As REEEP's second largest donor, she stated that the partnership's goals are consistent with Norway's Action Plan for Environment in Development.

Renewable energy is only one side of the coin and REEEP is one of the few energy partnerships that bridges renewables with energy efficiency. U.S. Under Secretary of State, Paula Dobriansky stated that REEEP exemplifies the value of the public-private partnership model. REEEP will be working together with the U.S. government to contribute to international energy efficiency at the WIREC08 conference in Washington.

Stephanie Nour from the Canadian consultancy Econoler presented the case for Brazilian oil company Petrobras's decision to establish an Energy Service Company (ESCO) for its industrial clients.

The event was closed by Ian Pearson, UK Minister of State for Climate Change who commented on the success of REEEP's projects and stated that they should now be scaled-up and developed further. The UK is also supportive of REEEP's role in international processes, including Gleneagles, the CSD and Bonn/Beijing.