By looking at the moderate growth rates of Sustainable Energy and Climate Technology (SECT) markets in many developing countries, it becomes obvious that SDG-7, SDG-9 and SDG-13 cannot be attained by 2030 in business-as-usual scenarios. There is need for economies of scale and speed. In this context, formal, informal, centralised and decentralized multi-stakeholder partnerships - leveraging flexible networks and resources between a broad range of like-minded partners in developing and developed countries – can become important accelerators.

Therefore, UNIDO in partnership with sub-regional economic communities (RECs) and their Members States, is establishing the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centers (GN-SEC), an innovative south-south and triangular multi-stakeholder partnership to accelerate the energy and climate transformation in developing countries. Since 2010, UNIDO assists RECs in the establishment and operation of sub-regional sustainable energy promotion centres.

The gradually expanding partnership comprises a sub-network of centers for the African and the Arab region (in cooperation with the EAC, SADC, ECOWAS, and the Arab League) and a sub-network for Small Island Developing States (in cooperation with SIDS DOCK, CARICOM, and SPC). Currently, the network is expanding to Central America, Central Asia and the Himalaya-Hindukush region.

The regional sustainable energy centers aim to accelerate the energy and climate transformation by creating economies of scales, equal progress and spill-over effects between countries. In partnership with Member States and other sub-regional players (e.g. power pools, utility organisations, regulatory authorities, regional banks), the centres work towards the creation of integrated regional markets for SECT products and services by setting targets, policies, standards and incentives, as well as de-risking of investments through the provision of reliable data, analytics, bundling of projects and convening power.

Visit the GN-SEC website at: www.se4allnetwork.org.