Looking to Lisbon: A preview of the SEforAll Forum
In a historic monastery just outside downtown Lisbon next week, hundreds of investors, entrepreneurs, advocates, and government officials will gather for the Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) Forum. The Forum will showcase innovations in sustainable energy and clean cooking while also pushing the international community to take the bold steps necessary to achieve universal access to clean, modern energy. Clean and efficient cooking solutions are an integral part of the Forum Agenda. Alliance staff, including new CEO Dymphna van der Lans, will join numerous Alliance partners to help lead the rising chorus of voices calling for stronger action for the 3 billion+ who still lack access to clean cooking solutions. While there’s much to look forward to throughout the Forum, three of the key moments we’re looking to include:
Clean Cooking Fuels for All
Since its inception, the Alliance has worked to ensure that both clean cookstoves and the fuels they burn are at the center of clean cooking interventions. We’ve seen promising progress, with diverse fuel enterprises entering the sector and developing country governments implementing national initiatives that focus on cleaner fuels in markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The fuel conversation will take center stage at the Forum, which will explore ways to advance fuels markets through policy and technology innovation, and increased investment.
Join the clean fuels conversation during these events:
- May 2, 11:50-13:00 – The Deep Dive: Clean Fuels for All (featuring CEO Dymphna van der Lans)
- May 2, 14:30 – 16:00 – Clean Cooking Fuels for All: Moving Beyond the Improved Stove
Women Energizing the Sector
The inherent connection between gender and energy is at the forefront of this year’s Forum, with the gender and socially-inclusive People Centered Accelerator taking center stage. The accelerator has moved the conversation about social inclusion in the energy sector forward, and women’s roles are shifting from beneficiary to changemaker across the energy value chain (don’t miss the announcement of the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year award on Day 1 at 11:15 am at the SDG MediaZone!). In the cooking sector, gender inclusion is becoming a priority – from technology design and manufacturing to customer sales, and everything in between, investors and innovators know that including women in energy enterprises is good practice and good business.
For more on women and energy check out:
- May 2, 13:00 – 14:30 – Interactive Lunch: Addressing SDGs 5 and 7: Gender Inclusive Investing in Clean Energy
- May 3, 14:30 – 16:00 – Promoting Gender Integration through Policy Reform
- May 3, 16:00 – 17:30 – Empowering Women: Pathways for Up-Scaling Women-Centric Approaches to Energy Access
Don’t miss the announcement of our Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, Day 1 at the SDG Media Zone
Prioritizing Energy After Crisis
Global displacement has reached record levels, and it’s expected to worsen in coming years. That’s why it’s so significant that, for the first time ever, the need for energy access in humanitarian settings is on the official SEforALL Forum agenda. Despite energy’s vital importance in humanitarian settings, like refugee camps, it is not a formally recognized priority in the global humanitarian system and is therefore underbudgeted and under-addressed. In response, a group of organizations including the Alliance, UNITAR, UNHCR, GIZ, the Moving Energy Initiative, Practical Action, and the UN Foundation are developing the framework for a Global Plan of Action for Sustainable Energy Solutions in Situations of Displacement (GPA). Including refugees, displaced persons, and other crisis-affected populations in the discussion not only ensures that sustainable energy is truly accessible for all, but also presents an opportunity for the private sector and development community to invest in and grow innovation in collaboration with humanitarian agencies.
Learn more about the role of energy access in humanitarian settings:
- May 3, 11:45 – 13:00 – The Deep Dive: Energy in Humanitarian Settings
This is only a snippet of the exciting conversations that will surely occur during and after SEforALL’s Forum. These issues, and others like financing and the health-energy nexus, are gaining traction after years of awareness raising, advocacy, and the hard work of the Alliance’s partner base. We look forwarding to seeing many of you in Lisbon!