The Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions is a unique partnership led by UN DESA and ITAIPU BINACIONAL to promote Water and Energy Sustainability and other SDGs in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The objective is to build a global multi-stakeholder partnership and network to enhance capacities, dialogues and cooperation at all levels, for enabling cross-sectoral approaches, advocacy and knowledge management that address SDG6 and SDG7 and interlinkages with other SDGs holistically, in order to accelerate progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The intention is to grow this global network over time to become one of the largest global multi-stakeholder-based knowledge networks on energy and water.
Mr. Alexander Trepelkov, Officer-in-Charge, Division for Sustainable Development Goals, UNDESA
Mr. Joaquim Silva e Luna, Brazilian General Director, Itaipu Binacional
Mr. Ernst Ferdinand Bergen Schmidt, Paraguayan General Director, Itaipu Binacional
Ms. Sheila Oparaocha, Executive Director, ENERGIA
Ms. Leena Srivastava, Vice Chancellor, TERI School of Advanced Studies
Mr. Richard Taylor, Executive Director, International Hydropower Association
Mr. Ricardo Andrade, Director, National Agency of Water in Brazil
Mr. Manuel Menéndez Prieto, General Director for Water, Ministry of Ecological Transition
H.E. Mrs. Estefanía Laterza, General Director for Multilateral Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Paraguay, and National Coordinator, SDG Commission, Paraguay
Dr. Angela Wilkinson, Secretary General and CEO, World Energy Council
Mr. Haitian Lu, Chief, Capacity Development Office, UNDESA
On Monday 15 July, the Steering Committee (SC) of the of the "Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions" partnership, co- chaired by Mr. Alexander Trepelkov, Officer-in-Charge, Division for Sustainable Development Goals, DESA, and the two Director Generals of Itaipu Binacional, Mr. José Alberto Alderete and Mr. Joaquim Silva e Luna, met for the third time to review progress of the partnership to-date, discuss the implementation of the workplan for the remainder of 2019, and present and gather ideas for the workplan for 2020.
UNDESA and Itaipu Binacional, with support from the Government of Spain and ASAZGUA, in collaboration with "Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions" network members, co-organised a side event on "Scaling up climate action through integrated water and energy solutions: Delivering on the Paris Agreement and the SDGs". The event took place on 15 July at the Cervantes Institute in New York. Underscoring that "6+7=13", panelists highlighted the importance of SDG6 and SDG7 for climate action (SDG13), and called for strengthened global efforts in identifying policies, technologies and practices capable of addressing these issues in an integrated manner. The panelists included representatives from Spain, the Netherlands, USDOE, ITAIPU Binational, the International Hydropower Association, the Climate Change Research Institute of Guatemala and UNICEF.
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On Monday 1 April, a side event at the Global Conference on Strengthening Synergies between the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, entitled “How the private sector can contribute to achieving the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda” was organized. The event included remarks by the Under-Secretary-General of UN DESA Mr. Liu Zhenmin; Mr. José Alberto Alderete, General Director, ITAIPU, Paraguay; Ms. Claribelle Poujol, Head of Resource Mobilization and Partnerships of UNFCCC; Mr. Gonzalo Saenz de Miera, Director, Climate Change, Iberdrola; Mr. Ole Lund Hansen, Chief, Global Operations, UN Global Compact, and Ms. Constança Pinto Moura, Public Affairs Advisor, Danfoss A/S.
Moderated by Ms. Leena Srivastava, Vice Chancellor of TERI University, the event showcased best practices undertaken by private sector representatives to support the achievement of the climate and SDGs agendas, analyzed challenges and opportunities, and suggested possible strategies for further engagement with private sector. Participants underscored energy and water as key factors to achieve the interconnected agendas of sustainable development and climate change, and highlighted the essential contributions from private sector in providing innovation, technologies and business models for achieving these agendas. The importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships integrating different SDGs as well as climate goals was emphasized.
Under-Secretary-General Mr. Liu Remarks: https://www.un.org/development/desa/statements/mr-liu/2019/04/closing-remarks-how-the-private-sector-can-contribute-to-achieving-the-paris-agreement.html
On Monday 1 April, Mr. José Alberto Alderete, Paraguayan General Director of ITAIPU, and Ms. Monica Perez dos Santos, Financial Director of Itaipu (Paraguay), met Under-Secretary-General Mr. Liu Zhenmin in the margins of the Global Conference on Strengthening Synergies between the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to discuss the progress of the Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions Partnership and the way forward.
Mr. Alderete presented Itaipu’s case studies compiling Itaipu’s best practices in the implementation of SDG6 on water and SDG7 on energy. They both emphasized the results achieved so far with the partnership, underscoring the importance of the recently launched Global Network on Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions that will help identify and scale-up best practices on integrated approaches to SDG 6 and SDG 7 in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Under-Secretary-General and the Director General reconfirmed their strong commitment to the partnership and look forward to their continued cooperation to achieve its desired outcomes.
On Tuesday, 4 December 2018, USG Liu Zhenmin launched the Global Network "Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions", together with Mr. Mario Antonio Cecato, Executive Financial Director, ITAIPU, Brazil and Ms. Monica Perez dos Santos, Financial Director, ITAIPU, Paraguay. Alongside UN DESA and ITAIPU, the event included remarks by Ms. Cristina Goralewski, President of the National Forestry Institute, Ministry of Environment, Paraguay, and by Mr. Richard Taylor, CEO of the International Hydropower Association.
The global sustainability network on SDG 6 and SDG 7 interlinkages will consist of a large number of multi-stakeholders who really care about the subject and promote an integrated approach to SDG 6 and SDG 7 in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The main objectives of the network will be to share best practices, experiences and quality data; strengthen capacity building; mobilise and scale up multi-stakeholder action; and enhance advocacy, communications and outreach. Together with UN DESA and ITAIPU, initial members of the Network include the Government of Spain, the International Hydropower Association and the World Energy Council.
Live Streaming at: https://www.facebook.com/SustDev/videos/2158206587777779/
News story: https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/sustainable/new-solutions-network.html
On Wednesday, 5 December, an official COP24 side event, entitled "Sustainable water and energy solutions as integrated response to climate change" was organized. The event included remarks by the Under-Secretary-General of UN DESA Mr. Liu Zhenmin; UNFCCC Executive Secretary Ms. Patricia Espinosa; Mr. Mario Antonio Cecato, Executive Financial Director, ITAIPU, Brazil; Ms. Monica Perez dos Santos, Financial Director, ITAIPU, Paraguay, and Ms. Teresa Solana Méndez de Vigo of Spain's Ministry of Ecological Transition.
The event highlighted the interlinkages between water (SDG 6), energy (SDG 7) and climate change (SDG 13). Speakers shared policies, business models and programmes with an integrated approach to water and energy as adaptation and mitigation strategies to climate change. Furthermore, necessary technologies and good practices to implement the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement at different levels were presented.
Live Streaming at: https://www.facebook.com/SustDev/videos/1190872607735611/
News story: https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/sustainable/new-solutions-network.html
On Thursday, 6 December, a side-event at the SDG Pavilion (jointly hosted by UN DESA and GEIDCO) was held entitled "Building a Global Network on Sustainable water and energy solutions".
The objective of the side-event was to highlight the importance and interlinkages of water and energy towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and combat climate change, provide insights on why the Global Network has been established, its objective and planned activities, as well as present case studies on Itaipu’s best practices implementing the 2030 Agenda.
The session was opened by Mr. Nicolas Franke (Division for Sustainable Development Goals, UN DESA), followed by Ms. Isabel Raya (Division for Sustainable Development Goals, UN DESA); Ms. Ligia Leite, ITAIPU Brazil, and Ms. Maria Eugenia Alderete, ITAIPU Paraguay.
On 26 September, UN DESA together with Itaipu Binational and the Government of Spain, under the Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions Partnership, successfully held an event entitled “Strengthening integrated responses to water and energy as a strategy for climate change action” at the Cervantes Institute in New York.
This event consisted of a high-level and technical panel, both moderated by DSDG. The high-level panel included remarks by H.E. Minister Gugile Ernest Nkwinti, Minister of Water and Sanitation of South Africa; Ms. Cristina Gallach, High Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda, Spain; Mr. José Antônio Marcondes de Carvalho, Under-Secretary-General for Environment, Energy, Science and Technology of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil; and Ms. Arianna Giuliodori, Secretary General, World Farmers’ Organisation.
The event had over 60 attendees and provided an opportunity to showcase and discuss leadership examples on integrated responses to water and energy as a strategy for climate change action. The event also provided an opportunity to present the proposed Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions Network currently under development.
On Thursday 27 September, Mr. Marcos Vitorio Stamm, Itaipu Director General of Brazil, met Under-Secretary-General Mr. Liu Zhenmin to discuss the progress of the Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions Partnership and the way forward.
Both highlighting the positive progress of the partnership and emphasized the importance of showcasing best practices internationally. The Under-Secretary-General and the Director General reconfirmed their strong commitment to the partnership and look forward to cooperating at COP 24 and the years ahead.
On Friday 28 September, the Steering Committee (SC) of the of the "Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions" partnership, co-chaired by Itaipu Director Genertal's and UN DESA met for the second time and gathered ideas for how to start building the global network of the initiative, as well as for implementing the 2019 work plan.
