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Projects
Contribution to the EU High-Level Conference on Regional Cooperation
Short Description:
Overall goal
The Conference aims to accelerate global efforts to strengthen regional cooperation and integration as a catalyst for scaling up renewable energy and energy efficiency investment, innovation and entrepreneurship in developing countries.
Targeted regional cooperation can address some of the barriers for sustainable energy and climate technology markets more effectively and at lower costs than national efforts, create the urgently needed economies of scale and enable more equal progress and spill-over effects between countries.
Expected results
Expected outcomes of the Conference include:
• The Executive Directors of all operational Regional Sustainable Energy Centres within the GN-SEC, representing roughly 90 member countries and territories, presented their flagship activities and forged new partnerships with the international development community;
• Representatives of the regional centres in the preparatory and start-up phases (REEECH, SICREEE, ECEC) raised awareness on their emergence;
• A technical Background Report on regional sustainable energy cooperation was discussed and finalised;
• A conference report with concrete findings and recommendations on how to further strengthen regional cooperation was distributed to the international development community;
• Partnerships on concrete programs between the regional sustainable energy centres and other partners as a follow-up were created;
• The Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres (GN-SEC) as a platform was strengthened.
Target group / Beneficiaries
The Conference and its side events will bring together roughly 150 senior officials from EU Member States, selected key players from regional and international organisations, development banks, utilities and regulatory bodies, the private sector and academia from the global South and North.
Activities
The Conference will present case studies and lessons learned from the EU, EAC, ECOWAS, SADC, CARICOM, SPC, SICA and the Arab States, and highlight partnership opportunities with the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres (GN-SEC). The potential contribution of regional cooperation to accelerate the implementation of the “Green People´s Energy for Africa Initiative” through enhanced entrepreneurship, civil society engagement and domestic financing will also be discussed. Finally, the Conference will highlight the catalytic role of regional programmes and organizations in implementing global efforts and objectives like the Sustainable Development Goals, the climate goals of the Paris Agreement or the SE4ALL initiative.
The Conference includes the organisation of a “Business Forum for African Start-Ups and Entrepreneurs in Sustainable Energy and Climate Technologies” in the framework of the “Green People´s Energy for Africa” Initiative and the side event “Creating opportunities for sustainable energy investments and businesses in developing countries”.
Context
Under the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Austrian Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs (MFA), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) are co-organizing the High-Level Conference on Sustainable Energy and Development. The Conference will take place on 3rd October 2018 under the guiding theme “Regional Cooperation to Accelerate Sustainable Energy Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries”. It is organized under the umbrella of the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres (GN-SEC) and in conjunction with the Informal Meeting of the EU Directors General for Development Cooperation. The Conference will be accompanied by a series of thrilling energy events between 1st and 5th October 2018.