ABSTRACT
Energy services have a profound effect on productivity, health, education, climate change, food and water security, and communication services1; lack of access to clean, affordable and reliable energy hinders human, social and economic development and is a major impediment to achieving the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. Today, 1.4 billion people still do not have access to modern energy, while 3 billion rely on traditional biomass and coal as their main fuel sources. Through resolution 65/158, the United Nations General Assembly has designated the year 2012 as InternationalYear of Sustainable Energy for All to encourage increasing sustainable access to energy, energy efficiency, and renewable energy at the local, national, regional and international levels. This initiative will engage governments, the private sector, and civil society partners globally to achieve three major goals by 2030:
• Ensure universal access to modern energy services. • Reduce global energy intensity by 40%. • Increase renewable energy use globally to 30%.
