11 June 2017 - President of the International Eurasia Press Fund (IEPF) Umud Mirzayev and President of the International Sustainable Energy Organization (ISEO) Gustav R. Grob at the opening of the ministerial conference and 8th Sustainable Energy Forum in Astana, Kazakhstan, submitted joint Sustainable Development Goal Position Paper: “Meeting the Challenge of Sustainable Energy”.
Humans depended on the renewable energies like biomass, wind, and muscle power since ancient times in harmony with nature, until the mineral energies resources coal, petroleum, gas and uranium were discovered during the industrial revolution and increasingly exploited, until their negative effects on the health and environment were realised and environment ministries and university faculties for environmental sciences were set up to research on pollution and radioactivity, aimed at the protection of humanity, nature and climate.
IEPF-ISEO-APFREEE joint SDG Position Paper reminds about the challenges of sustainable energy and call to enlarge collaboration with sister organizations that advocate and support sustainable and clean electricity production and utilization.
IEPF President Umud Mirzayev, the representative from Europe ISEO President Gustav R. Grob and the representative from Africa Dr. Kamel Esseghairi who is the President of Arab Platform for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (APFREEE) signed the “Three Legs” Africa-Asia-Europe Partnership last year in November, during the 25th World Clean Energy Conference held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Three Non-Governmental Organisations, grass-roots’ active, have engaged to launch a partnership that pools their efforts and resources in order to contribute to ensuring among Middle East and North Africa (MENA) – Caucasus-Central Asia (CCA) frail and disadvantageous communities the:
-Sustainable and equitable distribution and availability of clean electricity among all human gatherings;
-Sustainable and equitable local development by providing for (locally) the generation of electricity, the availability of seed money and means of instant communication via mobile telephony;
-Sustainable development and equitable movement of people, goods and capitals in orderly and peaceful manners;
Apart from that, IEPF President Umud Mirzayev and ISEO President Gustav R. Grob held several very important meeting with the participants of the VIII International Forum on "Meeting the challenge of sustainable energy" in Astana. Among the most notable meetings, the meeting with the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Shamshad Akhtar can be noted.
Note that IEPF has already established good collaboration with Dr. Shamshad Akhtar far before the forum. Several op-ed articles written by Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Shamshad Akhtar were published in the International Analytical Information Gateway “Eurasia Diary”, publishing in five languages and operating under the IEPF.
Moreover, the meetings were held with Yasir Rashid, independent researcher and Rafael Leal-Arcas, Professor of European and International Economic Law.
Opening speeches were also delivered by Kazakhstan Prime Minister Bakhytzhan Sagintayev, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) and the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Shamshad Akhtar, Executive Secretary of the UNEC Olga Algayerova, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (RBEC) Cihan Sultanoglu under the chair of Timur Kulibayev, Chairman, KAZENERGY Association, followed by introduction speeches on the challenge of sustainable energy by Maros Sefcovic, Vice President for the Energy Union, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak and Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia Khalid A. Al-Falih, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak and Rachel Kyte, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Sustainable Energy.
The sad announcement of the demise of Azerbaijan’s Minister of Energy and Industry, Natig Aliyev, just before the conference was remembered with a minute of silence.
The Eighth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development (the Eighth Forum) and its opening energy ministerial on “Meeting the Challenge of Sustainable Energy” takes place between June 11 and June 14 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The Forum focuses on energy security, trade and infrastructure, the energy-climate and food nexus, and the development of renewable energy in a regional context. The events provide a unique opportunity to explore how the United Nations system can help countries and business to implement or pursue sustainable agendas.
Ministers, high-level delegations and leading energy experts explore how to drive change, the role of and need for regional cooperation and planning, and the imperative for nexus solutions as part of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In particular, the interplay between fossil fuels, energy efficiency, and renewable energy will be in the spotlight. The Eighth Forum and energy ministerial offer countries choices on how to attain the energy-related Sustainable Development Goals in their national contexts.