Having first visited the
United Nations 20 years ago, it seemed like a monumental task to turn this
large bureaucracy into a force to accelerate the interconnection of renewable
energy resources between all nations.
The Cold War had just ended,
and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) did not yet exist.
The one official that got the significance of this
work two decades ago was Assistant Secretary Gen. Robert Muller (now
deceased), who stated, “I will not repeat it often
enough. We need several great world engineering projects which will help save
us incredible sums of money spent on national duplications, increase
productivity of the world economy and help us save the environment... The
world energy grid should receive top attention and be supported.” We
were honored with his endorsement and foresight to create international
cooperation on clean energy.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stands for a picture in front of a solar panel display with a wind turbine in
the distance while on a visit at the National Renewable Energy Labs (NREL)
Today, climate change, world hunger and poverty, female
equality are top priorities to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The
current Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon stated his support recently at the National
Renewable Energy Lab: "When we put a priority on renewable energy we
address job creation, we address climate change, women's empowerment and food
security. Sustainable energy cuts across nearly every major challenge we face
today and will face in the future... We need to drive this clean energy
revolution at the speed and scale necessary.”
This
commitment by the U.N. leader will be heard around the world. GENI has been
pushing for the speed and scale up of renewable development in every nation –
and we now have a powerful world leader saying the same thing. These words will
lead to investment and projects on the ground -- and more than ever we need to
keep pushing “to get off the path of pollution and on the road to
renewables.”
We
proudly share this with you, as your financial support makes our work
possible.
In partnership for the
planet,
