High-level panel IV: Regional Strategies to Sustainable Energy and Best Practices

 
This session will explore the added value of regional, south-south and triangular partnerships, complementing national efforts to address barriers to sustainable and climate resilient energy markets and investments. Well-aligned regional methodologies, tools and standards can enhance and scale-up national efforts in this field and help to reach economies of scale, addressing issues such as climate change, as well as energy demand and supply that extend beyond national borders.
Until recently, however, the regional approach remained largely underutilized, becoming the missing link in major international climate and sustainable energy implementation processes (e.g. CDM, NAMAs, SE4All). Regional, south-south and triangular partnerships have the potential to support and accelerate the implementation of such energy agreements: the attainment of the ambitious global targets of SE4All and the new climate agreement will require major efforts and partnerships on all levels. In recognition of this potential, regional organizations such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) have begun to cooperate more closely on sustainable energy and climate issues by adopting regional policies and establishing sustainable energy centres.
Based on experiences from recent years, this session will elaborate on how the United Nations and the European Union can help to strengthen regional institutional support frameworks to better address the existing barriers. Specifically, the discussion will explore regional initiatives and policies that have the potential to scale-up inclusive and sustainable energy, such as the ECOWAS policy on gender mainstreaming energy access.