Global Energy Interconnection – Action plan to promote the 2030 Agenda for SGD

Sustainable development is the most urgent task of the highest priority in the international community. On September 25, 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 70/1 titled Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (hereafter “the 2030 Agenda” ), which clarified 169 targets under 17 sustainable development goals(SDG) covering economy, society and environment. It is a far - reaching historic decision, which points out the direction for sustainable development of all countries in the next 15 years. The implementation of the 2030 Agenda is the shared responsibility and commitment of all countries in the world.
Energy concerns the overall situation of sustainable development. To address serious challenges confronting the world energy development, Chinese President Xi Jinping, for the first time in the world, proposed establishing Global Energy Interconnection, or GEI, to meet the global electricity demand with clean and green alternatives at the UN Sustainable Development Summit on September 26, 2015. The concept of GEI highly resonates with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda , and has received wide recognition and support from international community. UN Secretary - General Mr. Antonio Guterres has called for incorporating GEI into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and encouraging the participation of different countries. Since its establishment in March 2016 in China, Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO) has made all - round efforts in GEI concept promotion, strategy and planning studies, technology innovation and standardization, facilitating the transition of GEI from a concept into tangible actions.
To speed up the development of GEI and promote the implementation of the 2030 Agenda , GEIDCO has formulated Global Energy Interconnection Action Plan to Promote the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (hereafter GEI Action Plan). The GEI Action Plan gives a thorough analysis on the role and value of GEI for implementing the 2030 Agenda, and puts forwards the goals, plan and roadmap of GEI development. Altogether, Ten Actions and Five Cooperation Mechanisms are proposed based on the status quo of the economic, social, energy and power development in different continents. The Ten Actions include concept promotion, clean development, universal access to electricity, power grid interconnection, electricity replacement, smart grid, energy efficiency enhancement, innovation driven, capacity building and policy support. The Five Cooperation Mechanisms include global power grid planning, transnational project construction, global electricity trade, interconnected power grid coordination, and collaboration in technical standards.
Implementation of the GEI Action Plan is of great significance for the realization of the 2030 Agenda . It can help boost green and low - carbon energy transition to provide sustainable energy for all. It can help significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emission, and achieve mitigation targets set in the Paris Agreement. It also sheds lights on how to solve ecological environmental problems such as air and water pollution to render our earth a brighter sky and greener lands. Furthermore, it can effectively guide energy infrastructure construction, promote integration of energy, information and transportation networks, and provide new engine for transition and sustainable development of world economy; and ultimately, it will help reduce poverty and regional gaps for a world of peace and harmony.
GEI is a systematic undertaking with a far - reaching bearing on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It calls for the concerted efforts from governments, enterprises, organizations and individuals. To that end, GEIDCO hopes to appeal to the international community, to join in the grand cause of GEI so that we could collectively contribute to the realization of the 2030 Agenda for a better future with all the wisdom and strengths around the world.