“ An optimal moment in history”
Damilola Ogunbiyi is CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and Co-Chair of UN-Energy. In this interview, she talks about how SEforALL is taking collective action and mobilizing support to help bring the world closer to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7.
OPEC Fund Quarterly: Have your views and optimism changed in the last two years since you joined SEforAll? Damilola Ogunbiyi: I have always maintained my optimism. I think this is a vital trait in anyone striving to achieve any of the global social or climate goals. You have to fundamentally believe that the change you are fighting for can happen. This was all the more necessary in the
past year. I started this position just as the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact the world. Since then, grim figures have emerged that anywhere from 150 to half a billion people could slip back into poverty as a result of COVID-19. The annual Sustainable Development Goal Tracking Report launched in June echoes this trend. While the report’s findings lag by about two years, the results show only a very slight change in the number of people lacking access to electricity – from 790 million in last year’s report to 760 million in this year’s. Similarly, those lacking access to clean cooking went from 2.8 billion to 2.6 billion – but this was all before the pandemic hit. Despite this dire and new reality, I
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am hopeful. We are at such a unique moment in history when many forces seem to be aligning. There is an upswell of global voices demanding justice: whether it be for social justice, around women’s rights (the 'Me Too' movement), racial injustice brought on by George Floyd’s murder, climate justice or calls for vaccine equality… These movements are forcing a much- needed global conversation about fairness as it pertains to people and planet. Perhaps it was fitting that we decided to launch SEforALL’s first global advocacy campaign during the pandemic. In March this year, we launched the ‘Be Bold’ campaign as a rallying cry to anyone who wants to support our drive to ensure sustainable energy for all by 2030. We see this as a right and not a luxury. In other words, how can we ask countries that are struggling to achieve a bare minimum of electrification for their development needs to just switch gears and start transitioning their entire energy systems? What are they transitioning to when many of their communities do not
have sufficient or any electricity access to begin with? The global energy transition must be inclusive, equitable and just. This means we have to allow for different realities and pathways to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. There has to be a clean energy offer. And that offer has to include ensuring we don’t leave anyone behind, that we provide sufficient access to clean energy to power homes and businesses, which support economic development. I believe we are at an optimal moment in history that gives us the best shot at finally achieving SDG 7, which calls for access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030.
OFQ: What progress has been achieved – and what still needs to be done to achieve SDG 7? Damilola Ogunbiyi: This year, we have made tremendous progress on a global advocacy level on SDG 7, starting with the UN General Assembly calling for a High- level Dialogue on Energy to
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