Special event during the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2026
Implementing the Global Plan of Action for the Decade of Sustainable Energy for All to 2030
Date and time: Wednesday, 8 July 2026, 10:00 – 13:00 EDT (New York time)
Venue: Conference Room 11, United Nations Headquarters, New York
Background
SDG 7 stands out as one of the most transformative goals, having improved the lives of hundreds of millions worldwide. The world has made tremendous progress on energy access, and the clean energy transition has become unstoppable. For the first time in history, universal electricity access is within reach: more than 90 percent of the global population now has access to basic electricity. Global investment in the energy transition reached a historic record US$ 2.3 trillion in 2025. The potential of SDG 7 to deliver major development co-benefits including improved income, job creation, and livelihoods is striking.
Yet, progress remains insufficient. With only four years remaining until 2030, over 600 million people still lack electricity and approximately 2 billion people continue to rely on polluting cooking fuels, with severe consequences for health, gender equality, food security, and human dignity. Keeping the 1.5°C goal within reach to address the climate crisis requires tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling the global rate of energy efficiency improvement. Achieving SDG 7 requires a massive financial scale-up, well over US$ 4 trillion annually, especially in the most vulnerable countries, including African nations, least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS). At the same time, the global energy landscape is becoming increasingly complex. Geopolitical tensions are heightening energy insecurity, while the rapid growth of digitalization and artificial intelligence is driving unprecedented demand for energy. The energy transition is also intensifying competition for critical energy transition minerals. Energy security and energy transition are no longer separate agendas; they must advance together.
The path forward requires both urgency and ambition. The challenge, towards and beyond 2030, is one of speed and scale: delivering universal access while ensuring that all countries can benefit from clean energy opportunities through accelerated deployment of renewable energy, a transition away from fossil fuels, stronger international cooperation, scaled-up finance and investment, and a United Nations system that acts with coherence and purpose. The decisions taken today will shape the global energy system for decades to come.
The UN Decade of Sustainable Energy for All provides the political mandate and shared framework for accelerating progress, while its Global Plan of Action serves as a guide for collective action. In this context, this special event, convened by DESA in collaboration with UN-Energy and the Group of Friends of Sustainable Energy, will bring together leaders from around the world to exchange experiences, identify opportunities and build political momentum to accelerate implementation of SDG 7 towards 2030 and beyond.
The event focused on the following action areas identified in the Global Plan of Action for the Decade:
- Closing access gaps in electricity and clean cooking while strengthening energy security.
- Accelerating the clean energy transition towards net-zero emissions in a just, orderly, inclusive and equitable manner, consistent with the 1.5°C goal.
- Scaling up finance and investment for SDG 7, particularly in vulnerable countries
- Strengthening synergies and interlinkages
- Catalyse multi-stakeholder partnerships
The event featured the official launch of two publications supporting the SDG 7 review at HLPF 2026: Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report 2026, the authoritative assessment of global progress on SDG 7; and the SDG 7 Policy Briefs 2026, which offers evidence-based policy recommendations for accelerating SDG 7 and its interlinkages with other SDGs.
In support of accelerated energy action, the UN Energy’s Work Programme for 2026-2030, setting out six priority areas for collective actions towards achieving SDG 7, was also launched.
Programme
Moderated by UN DESA
10:00 – 13:00
Opening segment
10:00 – 10:30
Welcome remarks:
- Mr. Li Junhua, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
Keynote address:
- H.E. Mr. Paruyr Hovhannisyan, Vice-President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council
Special remarks on the UN-Energy Work Programme for 2026-2030:
- Ms. Damilola Ogunbiyi, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and UN-Energy Co-chair
- Mr. Haoliang Xu, Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
High-level statements
10:30 – 11:00
- H.E. Mr. R. Matenokay Tingban, Minister of Mines and Energy for the Republic of Liberia
- H.E. Ms. Ilana V. Seid, the Permanent Representative of Palau to the United Nations and Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States
- H.E. Mr. Stavros Lambrinidis, Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations
- Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
- Ms. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
- Mr. Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
- Mr. Demetrios Papathanasiou, Global Director, Energy Global Department, World Bank Group
- Ms. Anna Pot, Netherlands National Coordinator UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Launch of the Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2026 and SDG7 Policy Briefs in support of the HLPF 2026
11:00 – 11:45
Opening remarks by Co-Chairs of the Group of Friends for Sustainable Energy
- H.E. Mr. Tesfaye Yilma Sabo, Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the United Nations
- H.E. Mr. Erik Laursen, Deputy Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations
Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report
Introduction by the chair of the 2026 Report
- Mr. Shantanu Mukherjee, Director, Economic Analysis and Policy Division, and Acting Director, Statistics Division, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Presentations by SDG7 Indicators custodian agencies
- Ms. Fanny Missfeldt-Ringius, ESMAP Practice Manager for Access and Data, World Bank
- Ms. Heather Adair-Rohani, Technical Lead on Energy and Health, World Health Organization
- Ms. Anastasia Kefalidou, Acting Chief, IRENA Office in New York and Permanent Observer to the United Nations
- Mr. Dan Wetzel, Head of the Tracking Sustainable Transitions Unit, International Energy Agency (video message)
- Mr. Leonardo Souza, Chief, Energy Statistics Section, United Nations Statistics Division
SDG7 Policy Briefs in support of the HLPF 2026
Presentation by the Co-Facilitators of the SDG7 Technical Advisory Group
- Mr. Hans Olav Ibrekk, Special Envoy for Climate and Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway
- Ms. Sheila Oparaocha, Executive Coordinator, ENERGIA
Closing remarks by Co-Chair of the Group of Friends for Sustainable Energy
- Mr. Hans Olav Ibrekk, Special Envoy for Climate and Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway
Implementing the Global Plan of Action for the Decade of Sustainable Energy for All to 2030
11:45 – 12:30
Updates on accelerated implementation of the Global Plan of Action
- Mr. Antti Rautavaara, Special Envoy for Water, Finland
- Mr. Eoin McShane, Director of International Energy, Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, Ireland
- Mr. Riad Meddeb, Director of the Sustainable Energy Hub, United Nations Development Programme
- Ms. Rana Ghoneim, Director of the Division of Energy and Climate Action, United Nations Industrial Development Organization
- Mr. Dario Liguti, Director, Sustainable Energy, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
- Ms. Angélica Maria Jácome Daza, Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Liaison Office to the United Nations in New York
- Mr. Wei Huang, Director, Division of Energy Planning, Information and Knowledge Management, Department of Nuclear Energy, International Atomic Energy Agency
- Mr. Jean-François Gagné, Head of the Clean Energy Ministerial Secretariat
- Mr. Amir Bahr, Head, United Nations Energy and Board Relations, SEforALL
- Mr. Ed Brown, Research Director of Modern Energy Cooking Services and Professor of Global Energy Challenges at Loughborough University
- Mr. Josh Oxby, Global Focal Point, SDG7 Youth Constituency
Interactive discussions
12:30 – 12:55
Interventions from the floor
Closing
12:55 – 13:00
Moderated by Ms. Bjørg Sandkjær, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
- Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General
Watch the event
Watch on UN Web TV
For further information, please contact Sae Kajima (kajima@un.org)
