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The Lighting a Billion Lives CONVENTION 2016 is an international forum for universal energy access that brings together practitioners, funders, policy makers, government agencies, development initiatives and businesses to collaborate on developing pathways and measures towards scaling up energy access.
CONVENTION 2016 is hosted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). Smart Villages is a senior partner for the event alongside premier partner UK Aid.
In this new era of the Sustainable Development Goals, and with the world coming together at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) to discuss possible new and legally binding universal global agreements on climate change, the link between energy and climate change becomes more imperative. Clean energy generation and consumption are key components of the climate mitigation strategy, but they are also crucial contributors towards community welfare and offer significant co-benefits in the areas of education, health, livelihoods, productivity, a better quality of life and the overall reduction in poverty. It is therefore essential to recognise the role that energy access plays, not only towards climate mitigation but also towards the achievement of the most fundamental Sustainable Development Goals.
CONVENTION 2016 is a first step towards climate mitigation through an ‘energy access’ approach for sustainable development. The thematic focus of the Convention is ‘Developing Pathways to Scale Up Energy Access’ with an emphasis on Policy, Finance, Innovation, Enterprise Development and the Role of Business in facilitating access to clean, affordable and sustainable energy.
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