New Delhi mission tackles women’s access to sustainable energy
Date:
New Delhi, India—UN Assistant Secretary-General and UN Women’s Deputy Executive Director, Yannick Glemarec undertook a three-day mission to New Delhi from 1-3 May to intensify UN Women’s joint efforts with partners in assessing women’s energy needs in India.
Mr. Glemarec had the opportunity to meet with multiple Indian officials and UN representatives to discuss the progress and challenges in promoting gender equality and women's empowerment in India, along with assessing the country’s energy needs and strategies in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The mission also sought to strengthen planning and implementation of “Women’s Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Energy,” a joint UN Women Flagship Programme with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
Mr. Glemarec met with Upendra Tripathy, Secretary of MNRE, to strengthen UN Women’s efforts with the ministry. The meeting outlined the barriers in securing energy in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Nagaland. Mr. Glemarec also met with Yuri Afanasiev UN India Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in India, to discuss various areas of collaboration within the UN.
On the final day of the mission, 3 May, Mr. Glemarec chaired a roundtable discussion with partners on women’s access to sustainable energy and entrepreneurship. Government leaders, members of civil society, financial institutions and the private sector were also present, and provided observations on the various strategies and models that have been adopted in India to increase women’s access.
Providing updates on global and regional initiatives related to UN Women’s Flagship Programme, Mr. Glemarec emphasized the importance of supporting women in this sector: “Engendered interventions are necessary to leverage women’s agency and to overcome the gender-specific barriers that hold back women in the sustainable energy sector,” said Mr. Glemarec.