- The World Bank Group launched online consultations today to gather input for a new energy sector strategy, which is expected to be completed in early 2011.
The online consultations are part of broader effort to gather input from a wide range of perspectives on how the World Bank Group can best help developing countries improve the access and reliability of energy while helping facilitate the shift to a more environmentally sustainable energy development path.
“This consultation is a tremendous opportunity to open a dialogue on how we can best help countries increase the supply and reliability of energy for their citizens while helping them make the important shift to a lower-carbon growth path,” said Jamal Saghir, Director of Energy, Transport and Water. “I am looking forward to hearing peoples’ views coming through the Web site or in the meetings we are having with people around the world.”
In addition to collecting comments online, the World Bank Group will hold a series of meetings, videoconferences, and other events in the first phase of consultations from February 2010 to June 2010. The feedback collected will be used to inform the drafting of a new energy strategy. An approach paper has been posted online for public review in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish, and Russian, together with background papers in English.
The African continent has been identified as of the regions presenting most clean energy opportunities while at the same time it remains vastly rich in raw energy resources.
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