FFRE Transition Workshop Series

In 2011 the Secretary General launched the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative that has three objectives to be achieved by 2030: ensuring universal access to modern energy services; doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The ambitions and policies for many SIDS go beyond these objectives however.To support the SE4ALL initiative and SIDS ambitions, the partners of this initiative are organising a series of Fossil Fuel to Renewable Energy (FFRE) Transition workshops, building the capacity of policy makers and other stakeholders in ramping-up national-level transitions to sustainable energy. UNOSD, in collaboration with the MID Commission, has already delivered the first iteration of the FFRE workshop, in Mauritius, from 12 to 16 May 2014. This and future FFRE workshops convene senior level officials of national sustainability strategy agencies, ministries of finance and energy, or planning authorities.This capacity-building process is particular timely for Member State governments as a strong global momentum is building to accelerate the transition to low-emission, renewable energy sources. While UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, talking in Davos to global political and economic leaders this January, repeated his call to mitigate climate change through energy transitions, both Jim Yong Kim, World Bank President, and Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, warned investors of the imminent risk to fossil-fuel assets as regulators and economies steadily move to a post-carbon era. This highlights the need for developing countries, in SIDS and elsewhere, to anticipate and benefit from this trend, minimising their dependence on fossil fuels and maximising the impact of early planning and investments.