About us

Who are we?

The Sustainable Energy Hub is a network of partners that work alongside countries to transform energy systems though an integrated agenda focused on the policy, technology and financial shifts that shape sustainable economic development. 

What are we trying to achieve?

We help countries build net-zero, people-centered societies driven by a just, sustainable energy transition. Our core principle is to promote an integrated agenda that supports energy for development, including by mobilizing partners to enable 500 million additional people to have access to sustainable, reliable, affordable energy by 2025, leaving no-one behind.    

Today’s climate, energy, and development challenges are interconnected and dynamic and require systemic innovative solutions. Rapid decarbonization of energy systems, coupled with an accelerated shift to sustainable consumption patterns and circular economy, can drive solutions.

This transformation of energy systems has already started, but is being altered by the current geopolitical context. However, this transformation must be accelerated, and it must be done in a way that advances the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Sustainable Energy Hub is UNDP’s answer to these challenges. To drive the systems-level change needed, the Sustainable Energy Hub aims to bring about a completely new way of thinking, doing business, connecting people and knowledge.   

UNDP’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan has put sustainable energy at the heart of a joint corporate mission, and UN-Energy has pledged to reaching key energy milestones by 2025.  UNDP will focus efforts on mobilizing partners and catalzing action to provide access to sustainable, affordable, and reliable energy – both electricity and clean cooking  – to 500 million people by 2025, focusing on the world’s poorest communities.

UNDP will not do this alone – our role here is to mobilize strong, meaningful, impactful partnerships to deliver action on the ground. We aim to bring about a new way of thinking about energy and advocate for an integrated, inclusive approach, where all stakeholders participate meaningfully in its design.

The UN-Energy Pledge

In 2021, UN-Energy has committed to mobilize key partners within the United Nations system, Member States, private sector, and civil society to catalyze partnerships, innovation, knowledge and finance to build resilient green economies through achieving a just energy transition and universal clean energy access. The UN-Energy Pledge aims to: 

  • Provide 500 million more people with access to clean electricity
  • Provide 1 billion more people with access to clean cooking solutions across the world 
  • Enable a 100% increase in modern renewables capacity globally and 100% renewables-based power targets established in 100 countries 
  • Enable a 3% annual efficiency improvement in at least 50 countries across the world 
  • Support the creation of 30 million jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency 
  • Re-direct fossil fuel subsidies towards clean energy and end financing for new coal power plant 
  • Reduce annual global greenhouse gas emissions at least by one third in 2025 
  • Double annual clean energy investment globally (relative to the current level) 
  • Raise energy access investment to US$40 billion of which 50% is directed to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). 

 

How will we get there?

Building on UNDP’s existing energy work in over 100 countries, the Sustainable Energy Hub catalyzes knowledge, innovation, finance and partnerships across regions and sectors and at the local, national, regional and global levels to accelerate action on energy access and assist progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals – including by improving essential services such as education and healthcare and supporting gender empowerment, livelihoods, and climate adaptation efforts – while following a net-zero emissions pathway. 

Our energy for development approach is driven by three principles:    

  • Rethinking energy to drive systems-level change. We must have a holistic approach to transform energy systems, with a focus on supporting energy for development, decarbonizing the energy sector and on shifting to sustainable energy consumption patterns based on reducing demand and significantly increasing efficiency.    

  • Harnessing partnerships and creating networks. We can’t do it alone. Our strong partnerships are what will enable countries to create new systems will bring power to homes, hospitals, and schools, many for the first time – and provide new opportunities for millions of people across the globe.   

  • Redirecting finance towards where it is most needed and impactful. We must channel public and private finance to developing countries through innovative financial mechanisms and alternative business models.   

This approach links the climate, energy, and development agendas. It is centered on:   

  • Helping countries unlock large-scale public and private renewable energy investments, for instance through UNDP's innovative De-risking Renewable Energy Investments framework.  
  • Identifying action opportunities with an integrated agenda through the UNDP Country Action Opportunity Assessment to map the critical policy, technological and financing gaps for joint energy programming among development partners, the private sector, civil society, and governments in 21 African countries. 
  • Supporting livelihoods, gender equality and women’s empowerment, and social protection. This includes focusing on enabling access to energy in a way that enhances livelihoods and powers essential services such as healthcare and schools, and providing guidance to policymakers to mitigate the complex and, if not well-managed, potentially adverse social impacts of the energy transition. 
  • Promoting good energy governance. This means creating inclusive and effective institutions that can create enabling environment to promote renewable energy, encourage private investments, support new clean energy innovations and foster innovative business models for the energy sector. Also, ensuring that the voices of women, youth, indigenous people, persons with disabilities and others who are often excluded from public policymaking, yet most impacted, are incorporated into energy decision-making processes. As part of this, we have set up a global advisory group on energy governance and have also launched the Alliance for a Just Energy Transformation at COP27 that aims to catalyse transformative action for a just and inclusive energy transition. 
  • Accelerating clean energy technology transfers and digital transformation.

Get in touch

If you’re interested in knowing more, or to partner with us, please contact us at: energy@undp.org