UN targets electricity for 1.4 billion without

U.N.'s Ban Ki-Moon visits Denver area, touts energy innovation

08/25/2011 - On a visit to metro Denver, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Wednesday checked out portable solar-power "blankets" and other innovations that could help reach a goal of bringing power to the one in five people worldwide who still lack electricity.

Ban declared delivery of electricity to more people around the globe a top U.N. priority and devoted much of the day to exploring sustainable energy challenges with government and industry leaders.

U.N. and National Renewable Energy Lab officials said they're developing a new partnership aimed at ensuring universal access to electricity and a doubling of reliance on renewable energy by 2030.

For too many years, "we mined our way to growth and burned our way to prosperity. Those days are over," Ban said later at the annual University of Denver Korbel Dinner. "Climate change is showing that the old model is obsolete, even dangerous. We need a revolution in our thinking, in action, in our daily behavior."

Today, roughly 1.4 billion of the planet's nearly 7 billion people lack electricity, most in rural South Asia and Africa. read more>>>