Sustainable Energy for All: UN Effort to Advance Human Progress in Harmony with Nature

The main purpose of sustainable development is to reach the peak equilibrium of these three aspects: Economic, Social, and Environment. The economic needs, where this world must show its ability to feed its seven billions children, including the fair share rule, where the prosperity should be allocated properly all around the globe. The social needs, on how we as the global citizens get rid of inequality, social injustice, and poverty covering some parts of this world. And not to forget the environmental needs, knowing that not all the resources are renewable, we then must use it efficiently. Keeping the balance between these three aspects shall bring the worlds development into a sustainable form: where we could fulfil our needs, without neglecting the needs of the future generations. Sustainable Energy That Those triumvirate sustainability cannot be obtained without energy. Energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, increased social equity, and an environment that allows the world to thrive. However, there are several problems of energy this world is havingsuffering. The first, on the fact that one in five or exactly 1.3 billion of our people are lack of electricity, while the other 40% rely on wood, coal, charcoal, or animal waste to cook their food. Second, knowing that the global energy consumption could grow 33% from 2010 to 2035 and global energy-related carbon-dioxide emissions could rise 20% by 2035, we then must find a way to get more from our existing resources. Third, by the fact that we could notcannot rely primarily on the solid fuels (traditional biomass and coal) any longer, we must maximize the usage of renewable energy, start from now. The key to those three challenges is to provide sustainable energy energy that is accessible, cleaner and more efficient. Sustainable energy for all is an investment in our collective future. It powers opportunity. It grows economies. It lights up homes, schools and hospitals. It empowers women and local

communities. And it paves a path out of poverty to greater prosperity for all. As a link back, it makes sustainable development comes true. In the spirit of making the sustainable energy a reality, The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2012 as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. To coincide with such designation, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon led a global initiative with the same name: Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL). The Sustainable Energy for All initiative is intended to attract global attention and public and private commitments to meeting three objectives by 2030: Ensuring universal access to modern energy services, doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency, and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. Thus, SE4ALL tries to answer three of energy problems with actions. Energy Access Answering the first problem of energy, The Accessibility, the UN believes that Universal Energy Access can be achieved with less than $50Billion per year. Several actions has been done continuously and worldwide-lyglobally to solute the accessibility problem., Tthe first is Clean Cooking Solution, a World Bank energy access project in Ethiopia led to the adoption of improved cook stoves by 2.6 million households in just five years. Secondly, the Mini/Micro Grids, where Husk Power Systems provides power to 25.000 Indian households through biomass based mini-power plants that use discarded rice husks. Also the Decentralized Solution made by The company Tough Stuff who will provide up to 33 million people in Africa & Asia with low-cost solar technologies, saving consumers $520 million. The fourth is raising the solutions from the governments, like Vietnam, who has increased her electricity access by 1.960% in 35 Years. The Small-Scale Lighting is the fifth solution, where Solar Sister has trained nearly 150 women entrepreneurs across Africa to start business selling solar lamps.

Energy Efficiency On the subject of efficiency, United Nations believes that investing $170 billion annually in energy efficiency worldwide could generate an a 17% average rate of return of 17%. Also with equipment maintenance, thermostat settings, and upgrades can reduce the emission up to 50%. Many countries are already adopting efficient energy technologies and practices in all kinds of energy-user: Buildings, Appliances, Industry, and Utilities. But the most promising efficiency program is fuel-efficiency requirements program in the transportation field, which offers savings equivalent to half the annual global electricity consumption. In the lighting field, shifting to Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) could save $113 Billion in avoided new coal-fired power plants. Since 2007, South Africa has distributed over 47 million CFL light bulbs creating demands saving of 1958 megawatts. Sharing and adopting these practices more widely among nations and industrial sectors can make energy more reliable and less expensive to homes and businesses. Renewable Energy Energy from renewable resourceswind, water, the sun, biomass and geothermal energyis inexhaustible and clean. Renewable energy currently constitutes 15% of the global energy mix. SE4ALLs goal is to make it 30% on 2030. While global energy demand and carbon-dioxide is increasing, the renewable energy investment also has been rising rapidly around the worldto $260 billion last yearand created 2.3 million jobs. The costs of technologies to capture that energy are rapidly falling and becoming economically competitive with fossil fuels, while reducing the risk of climate change. Investing in renewable energy creates jobs, fosters economic growth, and improves energy security for countries that lack domestic fossil fuel resources.

Increasing the share of energy from renewable sources can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and local pollution; insulate countries from fuel price volatility; and improve those countries' balance of payments. Hydro, geothermal and bioenergy have long been competitive where resources are available, and wind and solar are also economically attractive in many locations. If supported by strong enabling policies at the public level and robust investment from the private sector, renewable energy could supply a much larger share of the world's energy by 2030. Conclusion By the pursuit ofpursuing sustainable energy through SE4ALL, the United Nationsdirectly and indirectlymade significant progress for sustainable development. Sustainable Energy for All provide wider access to modern energy services, and bring transformational social benefits: lighting for schools, functioning health clinics, pumps for water and sanitation, cleaner indoor air, faster food-processing and more income-generating opportunities, among others. It also provide wider adoption of efficiency standards for currently available technologies, which could reduce energy use by 14% by 2030 in building and industry, and raising economy. SE4ALL also bring good deeds towards environment by boosting clean energy sources usage. Therefore, because sustainable energy can revitalize our economies, strengthen social equity, and catalyse a clean energy revolution that benefits all humanity, it brings back the goods to the pillars of sustainable development itself: Economy, Social, and Environment.