Together with our partners the Clean Cooking Alliance, UNITAR’s Humanitarian Energy team hosted the first ever gathering of practitioners dedicated to improving and expanding access to clean energy in humanitarian settings. The two-day event took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 31 July and 1 August and brought together over 180 representatives from 31 countries.

Participants agreed that access to clean energy is essential to provide vital services to displaced people, such as health and education, to spur entrepreneurship in humanitarian settings, and to reduce the sector’s carbon footprint. Among the many topics discussed, delegates delved into sustainable business models and partnering with the private sector, and shared lessons and experiences in a marketplace village.    

UNITAR is coordinating the roll out of the Global Plan of Action for Sustainable Energy Solutions in Situations of Displacement (GPA), a framework for collective action by humanitarian agencies, governments, donors, companies and civil society to advance the humanitarian sector’s transition to clean energy. This conference was part of the commitments made by GPA supporters to this aim.