UN Secretary-General and UNEP Open New Energy Efficiency Centre in Copenhagen

The new centre is part of the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative, a global multi-stakeholder partnership between governments, the private sector, and civil society.

October 24, 2013

Copenhagen, 23 October, 2013 – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) today opened a new global centre for Energy Efficiency in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The new centre is part of the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative, a global multi-stakeholder partnership between governments, the private sector, and civil society. The initiative was launched by Mr. Ban in 2011, and has three ambitious interlinked objectives to be achieved by 2030: ensure universal access to modern energy services, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency, and double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

“Access by all to clean, efficient energy will be critical in promoting sustainable development while, at the same time, reducing humankind’s emissions footprint,” Mr. Ban said at the launch. “Our Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, ably led by Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, aims to help jump-start this transition. I expect this hub, supported by the UN Environment Programme, to stand at the center of our efforts to double the global rate of energy efficiency over the next 17 years.”

The Danish government has supported the SE4ALL initiative from the start and announced last year that it wanted to establish a SE4ALL Hub in Denmark to especially promote the EE target under the SE4ALL initiative. The Danish Government now partners with UNEP and its UNEP Risø Centre, anchored in the Danish Technical University, to establish and manage the Energy Efficiency Hub under the SE4ALL.

The EE Hub will have a special focus on supporting developing countries in achieving their ambitions in the area of EE. Important lessons and experiences will be drawn from both developed countries and successful programmes in developing countries, which together will provide important examples and best practice approaches with potential to be transferred and adapted to other developing countries.

The EE Hub will reach out and partner with relevant institutions and coordinate closely with the SE4ALL Global Facilitation Team and the other regional and thematic Hubs.

The EE Hub will be hosted in the UN City in Copenhagen, and is institutionally, a programme under the Danish UNEP Risø Centre – DTU.

About UNEP Risø Centre:

UNEP Risø Centre (URC) is a leading international research and advisory institution on energy, climate and sustainable development. As a UNEP Collaborating Centre, URC is an active participant in both the planning and implementation of UNEP’s Climate Change Strategy and Energy Programme. URC is part of the Department of Management Engineering at the Danish Technical University (DTU) Risø Campus and boasts of a team of 50 scientists and economists from 16 countries. www.uneprisoe.org

For more information, contact: Mette Annelie Rasmussen, UNEP Risø Centre

+45 21798883, meta@dtu.dk