Tenth Session of the General Assembly
Open Working-Group on Sustainable Development Goals
Energy
Intervention by:
His Excellency Mr Ahmed Sareer, Permanent Representative to the United Nations,
New York, 31 March – 4 April 2014
Distinguished Co-Chair,
Maldives aligns itself with the statement made by Bolivia on behalf of G77 and China and the statement delivered by Nauru on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).
Co-Chair,
My delegation concurs with much of the Co-Chairs’ summary points in the area of Energy. Indeed, Energy plays a vital role in development and as such sustainable energy should play a vital role in sustainable development. We need to ensure universal access to clean, reliable and affordable modern energy services. There needs to be a shift to renewable energy in the global energy mix. Governments need to adopt policies that will promote the use of renewable and sustainable energy sources. We need to give incentive to businesses to improve energy efficiency. There has to be a phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies. There needs to be increased financing for investment in modern and reliable sources of renewable energy. Promote capacity building and effective mechanism for transfer of modern energy technology.
An SDG goal on Energy should be aimed at without damaging the planet and the effects to the climate fully taken into account. Small Island states such as the Maldives are highly dependent on petroleum, leading to problems of affordability of energy both for transport and electricity. Given that electricity is the easiest to decouple from fossil fuel we should focus on sustainable electricity generation. We would be able to tackle both climate change and poverty by improving energy efficiency and providing the necessary incentives for renewable energy. We also need to take into consideration the structural disadvantages of SIDS in attracting direct investment.
Means of implementation is critical when we talk about a goal on sustainable energy. Both governments and private sector needs to work hand in hand to achieve universal access to energy.
I thank you Mr. Co-Chair.
