2012 will by United Nations international year of sustainable energy

UN calls for universal access to renewable energy, Guardian UK 2 Nov 11, UN’s annual Human Development Report backs drive towards sustainable energy for all and says empowering women will help to meet world’s environmental challenges

The UN has called for a high-profile initiative to promote universal access to power such as electricity in developing countries based on a global advocacy campaign and investments on the ground for clean energy.

In its annual Human Development Report, the UN Development Progamme (UNDP) said the time is right for such a drive as the UN has designated 2012 as the international year of sustainable energy for all. Meanwhile, next year’s Rio+20 Earth summit will provide an
opportunity to define a global approach for universal access to energy
– about 1.5 billion people worldwide, more than one in five, lack electricity.

On Tuesday, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, announced the
creation of a high-level group to drum up support for energy access,
energy efficiency and greater use of renewable energy. The group is to
be co-chaired by Kandeh Yumkella, the chair of UN Energy and director
general of the UN Industrial Development Organisation, and Charles
Holliday, chairman of Bank of America.

This year’s report, Sustainability and Equity, published on Wednesday,
focuses on environmental degradation and its potential impact on human
development. Environmental trends over recent decades show
deterioration on several fronts, the report says, with adverse
repercussions for human development (defined by the UN as “the
expansion of people’s freedoms and capabilities to lead lives that
they value and have reason to value”), especially for the millions of
people who depend directly on natural resources for their livelihoods.

The report looks at the national rankings of the UNDP’s human
development index, which combines measures of health, education and
income. Norway, Australia and the Netherlands lead the world in the
2011 ranking, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger and
Burundi the least developed. Cuba shows the greatest rise in the
rankings and Kuwait the greatest fall.

The report puts particular emphasis on the need to empower women as a
way of meeting the world’s environmental challenges. “Transformation
in gender roles and empowerment have enabled some countries and groups
to improve sustainability and equity, advancing human development,”
the report says, citing countries such as Cuba, Iran and Mauritius,
which have brought down fertility rates. Making the explicit link
between lower birth rates and the protection of the environment, the
report says: “Evidence suggests that if all women could exercise
reproductive choice, population growth would slow enough to bring
greenhouse gas emissions below current levels. Meeting unmet need for
family planning by 2050 would lower the world’s carbon emissions an
estimated 17% below what they are today.”

The UNDP said analysis covering 100 countries confirmed that greater
political participation by women “is positively associated with better
environmental outcomes, including better access to water, less land
degradation and fewer deaths due to ndoor and outdoor air pollution
and dirty water”……

As for the issue of how much it will cost to move to clean energy, the
report cites estimates of total annual mitigation and adaptation costs
by 2030 as ranging from $249bn to $1,371bn. While the amounts are
large, the UNDP points out they are below current spending on defence,
on recent banking bailouts and on “perverse” subsidies. Uzbekistan
spends more than 10 times more on fossil fuel consumption subsidies
than on health – 32% of GDP, compared with 2.5% – while Iran spends
20% of GDP on fossil fuel consumption subsidies, compared with less
than 5% on education…..http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/nov/02/human-development-report-renewable-energy