Brussels, 16/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - “Energising Development” is the name of the new EU initiative which will provide access to sustainable energy for an additional 500 million people in developing countries by 2030. The initiative, announced by Commission President José Manuel Barroso at the European summit on sustainable energy for all (see EUROPE 10592), will create a technical assistance facility, in excess of €50 million over the next two years, to support the United Nations initiative to bring universal access to sustainable energy by 2030.
Furthermore, in the run-up to the UN Rio+20 Summit on sustainable development (20-22 June), the EU and its member states will make available additional aid amounting to several hundred million euro to back new investment in sustainable energy for developing countries. Working with the banks and the private sector will leverage this sum many times over, Barroso said. (AN/transl.rt)