MECS to highlight urgency for scaling access to clean, electric cooking at the ENERGYNOW SDG7 Action Forum, New York

The UKaid funded Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) programme has a strong presence at the ENERGYNOW SDG7 Action Forum 2024, being held from 25-27 September 2024. The Third Edition of the Forum, held on the margins of the UN General Assembly High-Level Week in New York, supports efforts to get the world on track towards meeting the SDGs and the objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change by providing a platform to connect all stakeholder groups, including decision makers and practitioners, in support of driving momentum and mobilizing action. The Forum will showcase Energy Compacts, present success stories and best practices, and strengthen multistakeholder dialogue in support of accelerated SDG7 action.

Ed Brown, MECS Research Director and Professor of Global Energy Challenges, Loughborough University, is participating in a variety of events at the Forum:

‘A Year from the Clean Cooking Roadmap Launch: Advances and Challenges’, 26 September 2024, 09:00-10:30 EDT.

Prof. Brown will join a panel of global experts at the event entitled ‘A Year from the Clean Cooking Roadmap Launch: Advances and Challenges’ at the Forum, to be held on 26 September 2024 from 09:00-10:30 EDT. Organised by WHO, World Bank, UNDESA and UNDP, the event focuses on exploring the key advances and challenges in implementing the Global Roadmap for Just and Inclusive Clean Cooking Transition.

During the event, Prof. Brown will highlight aspects relating to the draft report “Sustainable Scaling: Meeting the Clean Cooking Challenge in Africa”, led by The African Energy Commission (AFREC) in collaboration with MECS, and will also draw on ongoing MECS work in Nepal to illustrate the progress being made and the challenges that need to be confronted in the delivery of the Nepalese government’s ambitious targets for transitioning to eCooking.

Side event “Energy for sustainable agrifood systems and clean cooking”, 27 September 2024, 10:45 – 12:15 EDT.

This pivotal side event, co-organised by FAO and UNDP, will delve into the vital intersection of sustainable energy, agrifood systems, and clean cooking. This session will showcase compelling evidence highlighting how clean cooking is essential for fostering sustainable food systems, combating climate change, and promoting environmental restoration.

During the side event, Prof. Brown will highlight aspects relating to the draft report “Sustainable Scaling: Meeting the Clean Cooking Challenge in Africa”, led by The African Energy Commission (AFREC) in collaboration with MECS. Examples to be highlighted include the limitations of approaches that only focus on more energy-efficient biomass, the complexities of the charcoal value chain, and the tremendous potential of the off-grid solar sector with examples from MECS partnerships worldwide, including Kachione’s women farmer project in Malawi where eCooking is paired with solar irrigation, work that MECS is supporting with SEforALL in Nigeria on eCooking as a productive use, and new energy storage technologies.

Prof. Brown will also be attending the side event “Post-2030 Vision: Prioritizing Gender Indicators for a Just and Inclusive Energy Transition for All” (27 September 2024, 09:00-10:30 EDT) which focuses on addressing critical gaps in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) on sustainable energy for all, and participating in the SDG7 Action Forum Informal Breakfast Meeting (26 September 2024, 07:30 – 08:45 EDT) which will serve to discuss about the actions and financing needs to accelerate universal energy access and to implement the UN-Energy joint action concept (that has been endorsed and approved by UN-Energy member organisations).

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Featured image: Centre for Research in Energy and Energy Conservation (CREEC), Uganda.