A global SDG 7 meeting was held from 21 to 23 February 2018 in Bangkok, UN ESCAP.

The Global SDG 7 conference was co-convened by UN DESA, UN ESCAP and the Ministry of Energy of Thailand. The conference brought together key stakeholders from Governments, UN system and other international organizations, the private sector, and civil society to engage in a dialogue that emphasized the integrated and cross-cutting nature of sustainable energy and its multiple roles in supporting the achievement of the SDGs.

The conference was generously supported by Norway, Republic of Korea, China, Germany, The Netherlands, the European Commission, ENERGIA, and Hivos. More

Sustainable Development Goal 7 aims to "Ensure access to affordable, reliable and modern energy for all"

ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services (7.1),

increasing substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix (7.2),

doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency (7.3),

enhancing international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology (7.a)

and expanding infrastructure and upgrading technology (7.b). More

Convened as a high-level meeting and organized by the UN SG Ban Ki-moon,the SE4All Forum marked the beginning of the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All 2014-2024, including its initial two year focus on Energy for Women, Children, and Health.

On the last day of the Forum, more than 60 delegations attended the High-Level Dialogue on Energy in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. More

The United Nations have been working together with stakeholders in order to develop a more coordinated plan of action at global level to ensure progress on sustainable energy for all.

The United Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All (2014-2024) represents a precious opportunity for all stakeholders to gather around a common platform to take further action and complement activities and synergies ensuring progress towards the overall objectives of sustainable energy for all.
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Through the adoption of Resolution 65/151, the UN General Assembly established the year 2012 as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All.

This decision aimed at raising awareness about the importance of increasing sustainable access to energy, energy efficiency, and renewable energy at local, national, regional and international levels.

Furthermore, it focused on the impact that energy services have on other sectors such as productivity, health, education, climate change, food and water security, and communication services.
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Future We Want recognizes the crucial role that energy plays in the development process, emphasizes the need to address the challenge of access to sustainable modern energy services for all and recognizes that improving energy efficiency, increasing the share of renewable energy and cleaner and energy-efficient technologies are important for sustainable development.
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In September 2011, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched Sustainable Energy for All as a global initiative aimed at achieving sustainable energy for all by 2030 and able to mobilize action from all sectors of society in support of three interlinked objectives:

providing universal access to modern energy services;

doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency and

doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. More

CSD-15 recognized that energy was crucial for sustainable development and poverty eradication.

The Commission agreed on the need to further diversify energy supply by developing advanced, cleaner, more efficient, affordable and cost-effective energy technologies.
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CSD-14 convened in May 2006 and focused on the importance of energy use for the achievement of sustainable development, but also on its role as one of the main contributors to air pollution, atmospheric problems and greenhouse gas emissions.

Therefore, the Commission highlighted the need to further develop cleaner energy methods, technologies as well as to ensure access to modern energy services for cooking and heating and agreed on the need to provide a judicious mix of energy from all sources in order to meet the rising global energy demand with optimal efficiency, with advanced, cleaner fossil fuel technologies playing an important role. More

The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) addresses energy in the context of sustainable development.

The JPOI calls, inter alia, for action to:

(1) improve access to reliable, affordable, economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sound energy services;

(2) recognize that energy services have positive impacts on poverty eradication and the improvement of standards of living;

(3) develop and disseminate alternative energy technologies with the aim of giving a greater share of the energy mix to renewable energy and, with a sense of urgency, substantially increase the global share of renewable energy sources;

(4) diversify energy supply by developing advanced, cleaner, more efficient and cost-effective energy technologies;

(5) combine a range of energy technologies, including advanced and cleaner fossil fuel technologies to meet the growing need for energy services;

(6) accelerate the development, dissemination and deployment of affordable and cleaner energy efficiency and energy conservation technologies and

(7) take action, where appropriate, to phase out subsidies in this area that inhibit sustainable development. More

UN-Energy is the mechanism created by the United Nations for inter-agency collaboration in the field of energy.

It was established in order to identify and ensure coherent strategies and a consistent approach in the area of energy and to contribute to the efforts made at national level towards the transition to sustainable energy.
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At CSD-9, countries agreed that stronger emphasis should be placed on the development, implementation, and transfer of cleaner, more efficient energy technologies and that urgent action was required to further develop and expand the role of alternative energy sources. More

Agenda 21 highlighted the fact that current levels of energy consumption and production are not sustainable, especially if demand continued to increase and stressed the importance of using energy resources in a way that is consistent with the aims of protecting human health, the atmosphere, and the natural environment.
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