To the editor:
I was very pleased to hear the United Nations has declared 2012 the International Year for Sustainable Energy for All.
Energy issues are at the root of many of the world's economic issues and addressing these would go a long way toward restoring stability to the troubled global economy.
There is a particularly strong correlation between economic prosperity and access to electricity. That's why it should be a real eye opener for people to hear that there are 1.4 billion people in the world currently living without electricity. That's one out of every five people on the planet, or 20 per cent of the total estimated global population of seven billion people.
Because of this, the United Nations has set an ambitious goal for every village in the world to have access to electricity from clean, renewable sources by 2030. Achieving this goal is said to be the U.N.'s number 1 priority.
As U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently stated, "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."
I couldn't agree more with him. Energy issues are inextricably linked to economic issues, and bringing energy issues back to the forefront of public consciousness is a very positive initiative. Here's hoping the United Nations’ efforts to turn the global spotlight back to providing sustainable, clean, renewable energy for all in 2012 will be an overwhelming success.
Eugenia Nikolaidis
Vancouver
