2 minutes read

Energy access – the so-called ‘Missed Millennium Development Goal’, is considered a fundamental driver of economic and social development. It is a key condition to guarantee access to clean water, sanitation, schooling and business in developing countries.

Energy access – the so-called ‘Missed Millennium Development Goal’, is considered a fundamental driver of economic and social development. It is a key condition to guarantee access to clean water, sanitation, schooling and business in developing countries. In the words of UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, "Universal energy access is a key priority on the global development agenda. It is a foundation for all the Millennium Development Goals".

Energy poverty involves a large proportion of the global population, mainly concentrated in developing countries and in Sub-Saharan Africa. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that currently 1.26 billion people (20% of worldwide population) lack access to electricity and 2.6 billion (38% of global population) rely on traditional cooking methods based on the use of biomass with severe consequences on health due to indoor air pollution (IEA, 2010). The international community is committed to solve the problem of energy poverty: ‘Sustainable Energy for All’ (SEFA) is the program launched by the United Nations in 2012, as one of the main results of the Rio+20 Conference. Its goal is to assure universal access to modern and sustainable energy by 2030, improving the rate of renewables in the energy mix and promoting energy efficiency. SEFA states clearly that the cooperation among research, private and public sector is the key to achieve this goal.

With the aim to generate new insights and concrete policy recommendations, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) and Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli (FGF) within the LabExpo Project, in collaboration with eni, are organizing on July, 10, 2014 a workshop on “Energy Poverty and Energy Access: Global Challenges and Goals”, gathering together representatives from the academia, international organizations, corporate institutions and industry. The two-day workshop has been an excellent occasion to identify challenges and opportunities and to stimulate the debate among experts leading to define a set of potential solutions and policy recommendations.

The results of the workshop have been summarized in the publication “Publication: "GLOBAL CHALLENGES, INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS: a cooperation matrix against energy poverty" – a toolwhich may be truly effective for the whole set of players called upon to give their contribution in tackling the global issue of energy poverty.