Ensuring Access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable and Modern Energy for All

A/RES/79/211View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 18i Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, published in 2024.

What other versions does this mandate have?

10 versions · 2017–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/142

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/142	Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all	5,873	89%Compare
2024	A/RES/79/211	Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all	5,580	89%Compare
2023	A/RES/78/157	Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all	5,379	90%Compare
2022	A/RES/77/170	Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all	4,965	83%Compare
2022	A/RES/76/210	Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all	4,522	90%Compare

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Subprogramme 3	Sustainable development	27

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Subprogramme 3	Sustainable development	27	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

10 reports · 2017–2025

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2025	A/80/374	Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/79/211
2024	A/79/501	Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/78/157
2023	A/78/201	Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/77/170
2022	A/77/211	Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/76/210
2021	A/76/206	Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/75/221

What subjects does this mandate have?

4 subjects

Energy Policy Renewable Energy Sources Sustainable Development Sustainable Energy

What’s in this document?

44 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;¹⁴

¹⁴A/79/501.

Also takes note of the role and activities of the International Renewable Energy Agency, encouraging the Agency, in its capacity as an observer of the General Assembly in accordance with resolution 66/110 of 9 December 2011, to continue to support its members in the achievement of their renewable energy objectives, as well as the contributions of the International Solar Alliance, including in its capacity as an observer of the General Assembly in accordance with resolution 76/123 of 9 December 2021, and encouraging its work to collectively address key common challenges to the scaling up of solar energy, as well as the contributions of other international and regional organizations and forums to the global energy agenda;

Welcomes the political declaration adopted by the high-level political forum on sustainable development convened under the auspices of the General Assembly (Sustainable Development Goals Summit), held in New York on 18 and 19 September 2023,¹⁵ and urges timely action to ensure its full implementation;

¹⁵Resolution 78/1, annex.

Notes with concern the continued decline in international financial flows to developing countries in support of clean, sustainable, affordable, reliable, just and inclusive energy transitions, recognizes that the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 requires an urgent and steep rise in energy investment and finance, including investments in clean technologies and quality infrastructure, and in that regard calls upon countries, public and private financial institutions and other stakeholders to scale up the provision of finance for developing countries;

Strongly encourages Governments and other relevant stakeholders to take actions to achieve universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy, increase the global share of renewable energy, improve the inclusion of developing countries in energy sector cooperation, where relevant, and increase the rate of improvement in energy efficiency for a clean, low-emission, low-carbon, climate-resilient, safe, efficient, modern, affordable, reliable and sustainable energy system, given the systemic sustainable development benefits, while taking into consideration the diversity of national situations, priorities, policies, specific needs and challenges and capacities of developing countries, including their energy mix and energy systems;

Calls for ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, as such services are an integral part of poverty eradication measures, human dignity, quality of life, economic opportunity, the combating of inequality, the promotion of health and the prevention of morbidity and mortality, access to education, safe drinking water and sanitation, food security, nutrition, disaster risk reduction and resilience, climate change mitigation and adaptation, environmental impact reduction, social inclusion and gender equality, including for persons affected by humanitarian emergencies;

Underscores the importance of universal access to cleaner and more efficient and sustainable cooking and heating methods, welcomes ongoing efforts, and in this regard calls for the promotion of an enabling environment at the national and international levels for the increased usage of sustainable, cleaner and more efficient cooking and heating methods in all countries, in particular developing countries;

Acknowledges that means of implementation must be significantly strengthened, to enable decisive action and focusing in particular on additional finance and investment in line with target 7.a of the Sustainable Development Goals, and agrees that, without a strong push on innovation, new technologies, capacity-building and quality data, global efforts to achieve Goal 7 are bound to fail;

Encourages Governments, the United Nations system and relevant stakeholders to leverage the cost-competitiveness of renewable energy, especially in off-grid areas, in order to achieve universal energy access, such as by establishing policy frameworks, including for metering and payment systems, cost comparisons between grid extension and off-grid solutions, facilitating investment by domestic and foreign banks and educating students, communities, investors and entrepreneurs on renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation, among other activities, where feasible and appropriate;

Recognizes the role that natural gas can play in supporting transitions towards lower-emission energy systems, and calls upon Governments to enhance and collaborate on energy security, including through the sharing of best practices and knowledge for the security of gas supply and demand, in the broader context of the transition towards lower-emission energy systems;

Also recognizes the vital role of energy storage, in particular battery energy storage, in supporting transitions towards lower-emission energy systems, by integrating energy sources as well as enhancing grid flexibility, resilience, and off-grid energy affordability, and calls upon Governments to collaborate to overcome barriers and accelerate the deployment of these essential technologies, while ensuring the sustainable expansion and transition of industries, including that of critical minerals, and to facilitate technology transfer on mutually agreed terms to developing countries;

Supports energy access in accordance with the national needs of developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, to tackle their energy access challenges according to the specific needs of each country by mobilizing technical and financial assistance and tools to deploy affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy solutions to tackle the energy access deficit;

Calls upon Governments to expand the use of renewable energy beyond the power sector, taking into account national priorities and constraints, to industry, heating and cooling, construction and infrastructure and, in particular, the transport sector, including through sustainable sector coupling, energy storage, carbon capture utilization and storage, sustainable and modern bioenergy and hydrogen and its derivatives in the context of sustainable development, including climate change, and calls for supportive policy initiatives and investments at the national and international levels;

Recognizes that current global progress in improving energy efficiency falls well below the pace necessary to double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030, and encourages, in accordance with national laws and regulations, the promotion of widespread energy efficiency initiatives in all economic sectors, the adoption and updating of building performance codes and standards, energy efficiency labelling, the promotion of energy management systems, the retrofitting of existing buildings and public procurement policies on energy, among other modalities, as appropriate, as well as the prioritization of smart grid systems, district energy systems and community energy plans to improve synergies among clean and effective use of traditional resources, renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy storage, which aim to promote the interconnectivity of clean and renewable energy infrastructure and improve energy efficiency;

Also recognizes the vast investment needs and the significant challenges developing countries face to attract investment for affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, including the high cost of capital, and calls for multilateral development banks and other international financial institutions to strengthen their support for just and inclusive energy transitions by, inter alia, mobilizing additional financing and funds, providing technical assistance, and facilitating knowledge-sharing on mutually agreed terms and capacity-building to assist developing countries, and strengthening public-private partnerships, in the context of poverty eradication and achieving sustainable development;

Encourages efforts for resilient and secure cross-border energy infrastructure and energy connectivity;

Calls for strengthened cooperation at the regional level to promote innovation and facilitate financing, support regional cross-border power grid connectivity, as appropriate, to advance economic integration and sustainable development and share best practices that are responsive to regional needs with regard to Sustainable Development Goal 7 and its interlinkages with the other Goals, and in this regard encourages Governments to reinforce their energy interconnections, connecting regional energy markets and increasing energy security at the global level;

Calls upon Governments, as well as relevant international and regional organizations and other relevant stakeholders, to combine, as appropriate, the increased use of clean technologies and renewable energy technologies, other low- or zero-emissions solutions, more efficient use of energy, energy storage and greater reliance on advanced energy technologies, including technologies that avoid, abate and remove greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon capture utilization and storage technologies;

Encourages Governments, relevant international and regional organizations and other relevant stakeholders to promote investments in developing sustainable, reliable, modern, inclusive and equitable energy systems, inter alia, by strengthening energy systems through cross-border grid connections, as appropriate, and to consider incorporating decentralized clean and renewable energy solutions in energy planning, as appropriate, and recognizes that energy transitions will take different paths in different parts of the world;

Encourages Governments and all relevant stakeholders to increase investment and actions to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 7, and to integrate affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy solutions to enhance responses to and recovery from COVID-19, in line with resilient, inclusive and sustainable development pathways, and to ensure energy security, and urges developed countries, relevant international and regional organizations and other relevant stakeholders to support the efforts of developing countries, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, taking into consideration the different national circumstances and in line with the national development priorities of developing countries, including through multi-stakeholder partnerships, in order to fulfil the commitment on ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030, recognizing that increased investments in affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy solutions and accelerated action beyond a business-as-usual recovery will aid countries in responding to the pandemic and economic crisis, for a sustainable, resilient and inclusive recovery, including by reducing emissions, creating jobs and promoting resource efficiency, and in advancing long-term resilience and the Sustainable Development Goals, which are integrated and interrelated;

Encourages Governments, relevant international organizations and other relevant stakeholders to use and promote an integrated resource planning and management approach in their energy strategies that considers energy choices in the context of linked sectors, inter alia, water, waste, air quality and food, taking into account national circumstances;

Recognizes that sustainable energy access and its deployment can be both improved and accelerated by gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, and calls upon Governments, the United Nations development system and other stakeholders to increase educational and capacity-building programmes for women in the sector, further advance equal pay and leadership and other opportunities for women in the energy sector, promote women’s full, equal and meaningful participation and leadership in the design and implementation of energy policies and programmes, mainstream a gender perspective in such policies and programmes and ensure women’s full and equal access to and use of sustainable energy to enhance their economic and social empowerment, including employment and other income-generating opportunities;

Encourages Governments, with the support of relevant stakeholders, as appropriate, to accelerate the transition towards sustainable economies, according to national policies and plans, through mitigation and adaptation strategies that improve energy efficiency and create more and better employment opportunities for all, including young people and women, in wage and self-employment;

Emphasizes the potential of sustainable energy use to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, recognizes that increasing the deployment of clean and renewable energy and enhancing energy efficiency are components of many countries’ nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and urges effective and timely support for the full implementation of all those contributions, as applicable;

Notes that the impacts of climate change can also threaten access to and the supply of energy, and also notes the importance of increasing the resilience of the energy sector to climate change, which can be facilitated by the expansion of renewable energy and by supporting resilient associated supply chains;

Emphasizes, while noting progress, that the large-scale deployment of clean energy technologies has been insufficient and uneven, and that support is required to realize their potential, along with appropriate policy initiatives and investments at the national and international levels, with Governments working in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, including the private sector;

Also emphasizes the value of regional and interregional approaches, which can, among other advantages, enhance the deployment of clean, renewable and sustainable energy by facilitating the sharing of experiences, reduce transaction costs, leverage economies of scale, enable greater cross-border interconnectivity to promote energy system reliability and resilience and augment domestic capacity-building, and recognizes the work of organizations and initiatives in that regard;

Invites all relevant funding institutions and bilateral and multilateral donors, as well as regional funding institutions, the private sector and non-governmental organizations, to continue ongoing efforts and take further action to provide financial resources, as appropriate, to support efforts aimed at ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, including low-emission, low-carbon, climate-resilient, clean technologies and renewable resources of energy of demonstrated viability, especially focused on energy access and economic development in both urban and rural areas, while noting the potential catalytic effect of concessional and other finance and taking fully into account the development structure of energy-based economies of developing countries;

Encourages the development, dissemination, diffusion and transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on mutually agreed terms, including concessional and preferential terms, and highlights the importance of integrating sustainable energy in the Technology Facilitation Mechanism;

Stresses the importance of strategies and contributions by Governments and relevant stakeholders to multi-stakeholder partnerships in ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, and encourages coordination and collaboration between the United Nations and relevant multi-stakeholder partnerships and international organizations, such as Sustainable Energy for All;

Recognizes the catalytic effect of the sharing of knowledge and experience, capacity-building and technical assistance on sustainable energy deployment, and encourages existing and new efforts to enable Governments of developing countries and relevant stakeholders to plan, finance, implement and monitor sustainable energy projects to further strengthen their national institutions and capacities;

Encourages the development of viable market-oriented strategies that could result in further rapid reductions in the cost of new technologies and renewable resources of energy and could further increase the competitiveness of those technologies, including through the adoption, as appropriate, of public policies for research, development and market deployment, including phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption while providing targeted support to the poor and most vulnerable, in accordance with national circumstances;

Emphasizes the value of education, academia, technology and entrepreneurship in developing solutions to face energy challenges and achieve energy sustainability, as well as the importance of investing in research and development and demonstrations in sustainable and clean energy technologies, and also emphasizes in this context the urgent need to enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, hydrogen, energy storage, carbon capture utilization and storage, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technologies, including technologies that avoid, abate and remove greenhouse gas emissions, and improved infrastructures for supplying affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all;

Calls for national efforts to promote access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all and strengthened local engagement to complement current approaches, and reaffirms the commitment to supporting subnational and local efforts, taking advantage of their direct control, where applicable, of local infrastructure and codes to foster uptake in end-use sectors, such as residential, commercial and industrial buildings, industry, agriculture, transport, waste and sanitation;

Encourages the Secretary-General to continue efforts to promote the provision of stable, adequate and predictable financial resources and technical assistance for sustainable energy and to enhance the effectiveness, coordination and full utilization of appropriate international funds for the effective implementation of national and regional high-priority projects for ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, and recalls the convening of the high-level dialogue on the midpoint review of the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All (2014–2024), held on 23 and 24 May 2019;

Takes note of the high-level dialogue on energy held on 24 September 2021 to promote the implementation of the energy-related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development¹⁶ in support of the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All and the voluntary commitments in the form of 200 energy compacts, and also takes note of the Secretary-General’s proposed road map for accelerated action on Sustainable Development Goal 7, as described in the report of the Secretary-General,¹⁷ and the high-level political forum on sustainable development;

¹⁶Resolution 70/1.

¹⁷A/78/201.

Welcomes the convening of the global stocktake, marking the completion of the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All (2014–2024), to further accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 7, held on 19 April 2024, by the President of the General Assembly, and notes with appreciation his call to action, in this regard;

Decides to extend until 2030 the promotion of the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue engagement with Member States on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 7, in a comprehensive and evidence-based manner, taking into account the national priorities, policies, opportunities, circumstances and specific needs of developing countries, as a follow-up to the high-level dialogue on energy and the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All;

Calls upon the United Nations development system to work, through existing initiatives and resources and within its mandate, with relevant stakeholders, such as international financial institutions, along with development partners, such as multilateral and regional development banks and the private sector, to address capacity and funding gaps, particularly in developing countries, to scale up energy-related investments and to provide support to countries in need so as to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all;

Encourages UN-Energy to support coherence and coordination among the energy-related activities of the entities of the United Nations development system, within their respective mandates, and with existing resources in line with the implementation of resolutions 71/243 of 21 December 2016, 72/279 of 31 May 2018 and 74/297 of 11 August 2020 and Economic and Social Council resolution 2019/15 of 8 July 2019, in order to assist countries, in particular at the country level, inter alia through normative support and expertise to the resident coordinator system, upon request by their Governments, by leveraging partnerships with other international organizations, donors and relevant stakeholders, including in their efforts to achieve universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all and to accelerate its deployment;

Reaffirms the commitment at the very heart of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind and commit to taking more tangible steps to support people in vulnerable situations and the most vulnerable countries and to reach the furthest behind first;

Calls upon the Secretary-General to promote renewable energy, energy efficiency and related sustainable practices in all United Nations facilities and operations around the world, where appropriate and economically viable;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its eightieth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution, including activities carried out to mark the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All, and decides to include in the provisional agenda of its eightieth session, under the item entitled “Sustainable development”, the sub-item entitled “Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents

Who cites this mandate in the budget?