Beyond Greening the Blue Helmets:
Renewable Energy Transitions for Peacebuilding in Conflict Settings
Wednesday, 31 May, 13:30 - 15:30pm, Room S-2723, UNHQ, New York
Malakal IDP Camp, South Sudan
There is a striking overlap among the regions at greatest risk of conflict, those most vulnerable to climate change, and high levels of energy poverty – primarily in Africa, the Middle East and Southern Asia. Renewable energy represents an under-utilized entry point. Yet conflict-affected settings are characterized by unique challenges, and the renewable energy revolution that is transforming much of the world risks bypassing the conflict-prone states that stand the most to gain. The potential for renewable energy to deliver multiple economic, social, environmental and peace benefits in conflict settings remains largely untapped.
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You are invited to join a presentation on the potential for renewable energy in conflict and crisis settings, by the leadership team from the Program on Conflict, Climate Change and Green Development, a program of the Renewable Energy and Appropriate Laboratory (RAEL) at the University of California, Berkeley.
The Program aims to promote the use of renewable energy as a tool for peace building and conflict resolution and has developed different models through which to deliver “energy-peace benefits” including:
 A humanitarian sector-wide transition from diesel to solar power in South Sudan, which could deliver humanitarian cost savings while building long-lasting energy assets and future building blocks for peace;
 Integrating renewable energy into peace building and conflict prevention programming, including as part of a peace dividend strategy in South Sudan and Myanmar; and
 The launching of a new market-based financing mechanism - the Peace Renewable Energy Credit – designed to support renewable energy investment and deployment in conflict and crisis risk settings.

The presentation and ensuing discussion will explore the following questions:
 How can a broader rethinking of the role of energy be integrated into the United Nations peace agenda?

 How can strategic decisions involving energy advance UN mission mandates?
 Are Member States open to meeting peacebuilding and climate change commitments in crisis settings?

The Program on Conflict, Climate Change and Green Development team: Professor Daniel M. Kammen, Director, Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL), University of California, Berkeley; Dave Mozersky, Program Director; Sherwin Das, Senior Fellow; Dave Williams, Senior Fellow

More info on RAEL and the Program can be found at http://rael.berkeley.edu and https://rael.berkeley.edu/conflict