"Energy for All" Aims to Reach 100 Million People

Singapore, 27 March 2009 - "Energy for All" (E4All), a new partnership to be formally launched at the Asia Clean Energy Forum in June 2009, aims to bring business, governments and non-governmental organizations together in a bid to increase access to energy in the Asia Pacific region. Nearly 1 billion people still have no access to electricity and over 1.8 billion continue to rely on biomass and traditional stoves for cooking and heating in the region.

The WBCSD, represented by Ricarda McFalls, managing director, Development Focus Area, joins the Steering Committee, which will guide strategic input to operations and sustainability of the initiative. "Providing access to clean and affordable modern energy is not only vital to helping the region meet the Millennium Development Goals, but is essential in the battle against global climate change," McFalls argues.

As part of its poverty alleviation mandate and Strategy 2020 focus on inclusive growth, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to host the secretariat for the initiative for the first two years. E4All will provide a platform to stimulate the scaling up of access to energy by improving the sharing of information and resources and the flow of financing towards projects using appropriate technologies and a proven business case.

While information exchange is important, emphasis is placed on action, with a goal to reach 100 million additional people by 2015 as a result of the partnership's efforts. "The aim is not to create another ‘talk shop' - all emphasis is on accelerating access and opportunity on the ground," stressed Woochong Um, director at the ADB's Sustainable Infrastructure Division, Regional and Sustainable Development Department , in his opening remarks.

More information:

• Energy for All Establishment Plan and website
• 4th Asia Clean Energy Forum 2009: Investing in Solutions that Address Climate Change and Energy Security

Author WBCSD, ADB Publication Date 30 Mar 2009 Document Type WBCSD news Issue/Topic Development Electricity Utilities Energy & Climate Source WBCSD, ADB Include In RSS Business & Development News WBCSD News & Updates