Introduction and background
With the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Change Agreement adopted in 2015, the issue of energy transition is becoming ever more central to both national and global agendas. The Sustainable Development Goal 7 advocates universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services. It aims for a substantial increase in the share of renewables in the global energy mix, while increasing affordability of energy and doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
The United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD), which has been working on energy issues for some time, held a first one-week Fossil Fuel to Renewable Energy (FFRE) transition workshop in Mauritius in May 2014 for the benefits of policymakers of ten island states, mostly from the Indian Ocean basin. The event also provided the opportunity to develop FFRE capacity building and collaborative policymaking methodology, already used with other regional groups, notably in Nairobi for East African and South Asian countries in October 2014.
In a spirit of continuity in integrating more sustainable energy-related activities in its portfolio and considering the growing interest generated by such UNOSD-supported activities, the Office is committed to support the implementation of Goal 7, including the transition of fossil fuel towards renewable energy.
Accordingly, UNOSD is organizing a FFRE workshop for Latin America and the Caribbean region in collaboration with the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy MIDEPLAN MIDEPLAN, Costa Rica and the United Nations Devlepoment Programme - UNDP Costa Rica UNDP Costa Rica.
The bilingual (Spanish and English) FFRE workshop wil take place on 1216 November 2018 at the Omer Dengo Fondation Omer Dengo Fondation, in San Jose, Costa Rica.
The objective of the FFRE workshop for Latin America and the Caribbean region is to support the capacity development of policymakers and other stakeholders from twenty to thirty countries of Latin America and the Caribbean region in implementing a swift and profound transition to renewable energy through implementing sustainable energy-related policy reforms. The workshop will convene heads or senior level officials of those countries' line ministries and departments such as energy, transport, economic development, natural resources and environment, and sustainability strategy agencies, SDGs implementation coordinating offices and the like.
