Energy

CSD-14 convened in May 2006 and focused on the importance of energy use for the achievement of sustainable development, but also on its role as one of the main contributors to air pollution, atmospheric problems and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the Commission highlighted the need to further develop cleaner energy methods, technologies as well as to ensure access to modern energy services for cooking and heating and agreed on the need to provide a judicious mix of energy from all sources in order to meet the rising global energy demand with optimal efficiency, with advanced, cleaner fossil fuel technologies playing an important role.

UN-Energy is the mechanism created by the United Nations for inter-agency collaboration in the field of energy. It was established in order to identify and ensure coherent strategies and a consistent approach in the area of energy and to contribute to the efforts made at national level towards the transition to sustainable energy.

The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) addresses energy in the context of sustainable development. The JPOI calls, inter alia, for action to: (1) improve access to reliable, affordable, economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sound energy services; (2) recognize that energy services have positive impacts on poverty eradication and the improvement of standards of living; (3) develop and disseminate alternative energy technologies with the aim of giving a greater share of the energy mix to renewable energy and, with a sense of urgency, substantially increase the global share of renewable energy sources; (4) diversify energy supply by developing advanced, cleaner, more efficient and cost-effective energy technologies; (5) combine a range of energy technologies, including advanced and cleaner fossil fuel technologies to meet the growing need for energy services; (6) accelerate the development, dissemination and deployment of affordable and cleaner energy efficiency and energy conservation technologies and (7) take action, where appropriate, to phase out subsidies in this area that inhibit sustainable development.

At CSD-9, countries agreed that stronger emphasis should be placed on the development, implementation, and transfer of cleaner, more efficient energy technologies and that urgent action was required to further develop and expand the role of alternative energy sources.

Agenda 21 highlighted the fact that current levels of energy consumption and production are not sustainable, especially if demand continued to increase and stressed the importance of using energy resources in a way that is consistent with the aims of protecting human health, the atmosphere, and the natural environment.