Alongside my team of experts, I attended the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in 2021 to meet with activists, diplomats, and Heads of State from the UNECE region and beyond to find common ground on a range of topics essential to delivering on the Paris Agreement targets and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The compromise agreements at COP26 reflected the wide variety of interests, contradictions, and political will that we see today. This included sustainable energy. I am pleased to note that UNECE delivered real action to move the dial on sustainable energy, our Commitment Trifecta, and the Push to Pivot.

Energy is critical to supporting peace, cooperation, sustainability, and quality of life in our region. Experts have found clear pathways for policymakers to attain a carbon-neutral energy system. Energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy, high-efficiency fossil fuel technologies with carbon capture, use, and storage, nuclear power, hydrogen and integrated and sustainable management of natural resources are all part of the solution to attain carbon neutrality. However, only bold, immediate, and sustained action can decarbonize energy in time to avoid a climate disaster.

I remain convinced that international cooperation is essential to support all countries in the UNECE region to build resilient energy systems and accelerate the energy transition toward attaining carbon neutrality. UNECE continues to offer a platform for its member States to engage in inclusive and transparent dialogue, exchange best practices, and learn from each other to attain energy targets as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Inaction is a policy choice that will lead to greater, possibly insurmountable, challenges in the future. Policy actions are needed now to prepare society and build the necessary infrastructure to make the best use of our natural resources. The scale and complexity of these challenges are becoming more apparent every day, as is avoiding disastrous climate change and meeting the target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.