Renewable Energy and the United Nations: A Green Spark for Peace in South Sudan

Part of the UAE-Norway-Powering Peace Webinar Series on Energy Options in UN Peacekeeping Missions

Tuesday 11 April | 11:00 -12:15 PM NY time (5:00 to 7:15 PM Juba time and 7:00 to 8:15 PM UAE time)

Join us live at https://rb.gy/ufhmg

The United Arab Emirates and Norway, in collaboration with Powering Peace (an initiative of Energy Peace Partners and the Stimson Center), are convening a webinar on the potential for renewable energy to support local energy access and peacebuilding in South Sudan.

UNMISS, the UN Mission in South-Sudan, is the single largest consumer of electricity in the country and as such a transition to renewable energy use in the Mission has the potential to contribute to green electrification of the country more broadly. The event will see the launch of a new report of the Powering Peace initiative (a partnership between Energy Peace Partners and the Stimson Center) entitled “Renewable Energy and the United Nations: a Green Spark for Peace in South-Sudan”. The report offers evidence that renewable energy investment in fragile, energy poor countries like South Sudan can serve as a building block for future peace.

The webinar is a part of the UAE-Norway Powering Peace series on evaluating energy options in peacekeeping missions as the UN aims to shift 80% of its energy supply to renewables by 2030. More information on the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nation’s website.

Agenda

11:00 to 11:15 Welcome and opening remarks

• Victoria Holt, Director, Dickey Center for International Understanding, Dartmouth College (moderator)
• Ameirah AlHefeiti , Deputy Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN
• Hans Olav Ibrekk, Special Envoy for Climate and Security, Norway
• Elizabeth Rolando, Chief of Office of the UN Under Secretary General for Operational Support

11:15 to 11:30 Report presentation and scene-setter

• Flora McCrone, Visiting Fellow at the LSE’s Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa
• Eugene Chen, Director of the Prevention and Peacebuilding Program NYU’s Center on International Cooperation at NYU
• Dave Mozersky, President, Energy Peace Partners

11:30 to 11:50 Country-level perspectives

• Guang Cong, UNMISS, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General
• Joseph Africano Bartel, Undersecretary of Environment, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Republic of South Sudan
• Rutu Dave, Senior Energy Specialist, Team Leader “Leave No One Behind Program”, World Bank

11:50 to 12:10 Q&A with all participants

12:10 to 12:15 Wrap-up and next steps

• Victoria Holt, Director, Dickey Center for International Understanding, Dartmouth College (moderator)