Renewable Energy and the SDGs: Exploring Links with Extractives, Agriculture, and Land Use

Date: September 24, 2018, 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Location: Philanthropy New York, 1500 Broadway, 7th Fl, Central Park Room

The event program is available here.

The conference report is available here.

Overview

Alongside the UN General Assembly in September 2018, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s Thematic Network on Good Governance of Extractive and Land Resources (“SDSN Thematic Network”), the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), GIZ, and the World Bank hosted a strategic meeting to discuss opportunities and challenges arising at the intersection of renewables and extractives, agriculture, and land use, as relate to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This included questions of how the extractive industries and agricultural projects are affected by, and can contribute to, the deployment of renewable energy in line with the SDGs, as well as how those deploying renewable energy technologies can be sensitive to their impacts on sustainable development and human rights. This conversation drew on the experiences of companies, civil society and communities, donor and multilateral organizations, and others to assess how the private sector can promote accessible, low-carbon energy use while at the same time reducing poverty and respecting human rights.

The event began with a few short presentations on new research projects, including a report about how the use of renewable energy by the extractive sector can scale-up the deployment of and access to clean energy, and a report mapping renewable energy investments to the SDGs. Then, attendees broke into small groups to discuss problems that the field faces and identify next steps, including how the Network can facilitate improved knowledge-sharing and collaboration.