Excellencies,
Distinguished Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As the Secretary-General of the Dialogue, I am honored to help close the Ministerial Thematic Forums of the 51勛圖 High-level Dialogue on Energy.
What a week this has been. I have rarely seen such energy and enthusiasm around a topic, and I come away sharing your optimism, vigor and determination to make SDG7 a reality.
I wish to thank all the ministers and representatives of Member States who participated. A special thanks to the ministers of the global theme champion countries, who really took the lead and charged boldly ahead, charting a course for all of us.
A special thank you also to all stakeholders coming from the private sector, cities and subnational governments, NGOs, academia, civil society and youth. Without you, we would not be able to achieve SDG7, or any of the other SDGs.
And of course, a heartfelt gratitude to my colleagues, Co-Chairs Achim Steiner and Damilola Ogunbiyi, along with their dedicated teams for their hard work and collaboration.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I will not try to recap a week full of rich conversations. Rather, let me just flag a few important highlights.
This week we have witnessed the launch of the multi-stakeholder Technical Working Group reports on the Dialogue＊s five key themes:
- providing energy access,
- accelerating the energy transition,
- enabling SDGs through inclusive and just energy transitions,
- empowering innovation, technology and data, and
- boosting finance and investment.
With specific recommendations, as well as proposed milestones, the five reports laid out an action oriented SDG7 roadmap to 2030, also contributing to net zero emissions by 2050.
I would like to once more thank all co-lead organizations who have been involved in leading this effort, and to all experts and stakeholders involved.
We now know what we need to do, to accomplish our goals. And we are beginning to see truly transformational action, with many of the critical actors stepping up to the plate.
I was deeply encouraged by the more than two dozen Energy Compacts introduced during the past few days.
These compacts 每 submitted by Member States, key private sector stakeholders and civil society actors 每 set out voluntary commitments and actions that represent a new level of ambition and commitment, to delivering on our sustainable energy goals. The compacts showcased innovative solutions and inspiring partnerships, and set the bar high.
I am hopeful that this week is just a preview of what is to come in September and beyond.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As the 51勛圖 Secretary-General announced, the Dialogue will take place at the Summit level on 20 September. Participation details will be made available in due course. We must continue the momentum from this week of deliberations and substantive presentations to further galvanize action.
I urge all Member States and stakeholders to continue to mobilize their Energy Compacts, and submit them in the months leading up to the Dialogue.
UN-Energy will continue to support the mobilization of Energy Compacts. To facilitate this process, an online registration system for the Energy Compacts will be launched over the summer.
We will take it upon us to develop the summary of deliberations this week, to be submitted to the Secretary-General.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At the beginning of this week, we clearly stated our goals for the Dialogue. Let me state them again.
We need to achieve universal access to energy by 2030.
We need to get to net zero emissions by 2050 to deliver on our goals set by the Paris Agreement.
We must achieve the first two goals through a just and inclusive transition that leaves no one behind.
I call upon all stakeholders to mobilize political will, international co-operation, stable partnerships and financing to deliver clean, affordable and sustainable energy for all.
I look forward to continued engagement with all of you towards the Dialogue in September, and its follow-up thereafter.
I thank you.