Sustainability a 'moral and historical duty'

THE world is facing complex challenges regarding the future of sustainable energy which demand comprehensive and immediate solutions, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson declared on May 20 as he delivered remarks to the General Assembly's Global Energy Ministerial Meeting. 

“All of us have a great responsibility. Future generations will judge us harshly if we fail to uphold our moral and historical duties in this year of action,” affirmed the Deputy Secretary-General as he spotlighted the importance of charting a new course for global sustainable development. 

“Success depends on Governments, companies, investors, educators, scientists, civil society and citizens acting in concert,” he told in the meeting, which is being held in connection with the second annual Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) Forum. “Working together, we can light rural clinics, empower local businesses, invigorate economies and protect the environment.”

According to the World Bank's recently released report, Progress Toward Sustainable Energy: Global Tracking Framework 2015, some 1.1 billion people in the world still live without electricity and almost 3 billion still cook using polluting fuels like kerosene, wood, charcoal and dung. And, while picking up steam, renewable energy generation and energy efficiency improvements will need to accelerate dramatically, it says. 

Speaking to the gathered delegates, Mr. Eliasson underscored that 2015 would be “a milestone year” for the UN and the international community as it addressed these economic, social and environmental imperatives at three key meetings: in Addis Ababa in July, where UN Member States will work to agree a new forward-looking financing framework for development; in New York in September where they would seek to adopt “a bold universal new post-2015 development agenda” and in Paris in December where they would work to reach a robust universal climate agreement. 

“Our aim is – and must be – to bring about transformative change across sectors and across societies,” he added. “We need new approaches that go to the heart of unsustainable production and consumption patterns – across agriculture, industry, infrastructure and transport, and from factories to offices, from homes to market places.”

Compiled by Law Desk.