SE4All Advisory Board’s Finance Committee Report on Scaling Up Finance for Sustainable Energy Investments

Energy has become the central theme in discussions on alleviating poverty, promoting economic development and improving quality of life of people. The ambitious goals that the international community is setting to achieve sustainable development and address climate change require creative collaborations and finding new and innovative solutions.
The UN’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative, a multi-stakeholder partnership, has encouraged governments, international organizations, private sector and civil society to take prompt actions to address these global issues and provided a unique platform for collaboration. With its three interlinked objectives – 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 world’s energy mix, all by 2030 – it provides a road map for a better future in which progresses in other areas from health and education to job creation and gender equality are promoted by affordable, reliable and sustainable energy. However, none of this would be possible without scaling up investments in sustainable energy. Most recent estimates show that annual investments need to be increased by an additional US$650 billion over its current levels of US$350 billion.