High-Level Dialogue

First global conference on Climate andSDGS Synergies on 1-3 April 2019

About the conference

Energy lies at the heart of both the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Advancement in SDG 7 has the potential to spur progress across SDGs on poverty eradication, gender equality, mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, food security, health, education, sustainable cities and communities, clean water and sanitation, jobs, innovation, transport, and refugees and other situations of displacement. In 2012, the General Assembly adopted resolution 67/215, by which it declared the Decade of Sustainable Energy for All 2014–2024, underscoring the importance of energy issues for sustainable development. The General Assembly called for the rapid implementation of the strategic objectives of the global plan of action for the Decade, including in resolution 72/224. More recently, through resolution 73/236 on “Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”, the General Assembly invited “the Secretary-General, within existing resources, to convene dialogues, which could consist of a series of events including discussions among energy policy makers and other multi-stakeholders in 2019 to be supported by the Secretariat, in order to discuss the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All, including the global plan of action for the Decade as described in the report of the Secretary-General”.

Organized by DESA in collaboration with the Office of the President of the General Assembly, the co-chairs of the Group of Friends of Sustainable Energy, members of UN-Energy and the Technical Advisory Group on SDG 7, this high-level dialogue will convene energy policymakers and other stakeholders to discuss the implementation of the UN Decade of Sustainable Energy for All 2014-2024, including its global plan of action that was built on the review of SDG 7 at the High-Level Political Forum in 2018.

Objectives and outcome

The main objective of this High-Level Dialogue is to provide a platform to discuss major issues and demonstrate action related to the implementation of the UN Decade of Sustainable Energy for All 2014-2024, with a focus on interlinkages between SDG7 and other SDGs. More specifically, the aim includes:

• Reviewing the implementation of the UN Decade of Sustainable Energy for All, including its global plan of action.
• Sharing best practices, lessons learned, new challenges and emerging opportunities.
• Mobilizing commitments and actions to accelerate the implementation of SDG7.
• Launching the 2019 SDG7 Energy Tracking Report and the 2019 SDG7 Policy Briefs.
• Informing forthcoming discussions related to SDG 7, such as the ministerial level High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July, the Climate Action Summit, the SDG Summit and the High Review of SAMOA Pathway in September 2019.
• Informing forthcoming discussions related to SDG 7, such as the ministerial level High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July as well as the Climate Action Summit, the SDG Summit and the High-Level Review of SAMOA Pathway in September.
• Promoting synergetic action between SDGs and climate action, building on the outcomes of the first global conference on synergies in Copenhagen, April 1-3, 2019.