The Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative is a flagship programme launched by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon. Its goals are to get power to the one billion people who lack electricity (and give almost three billion clean cooking technologies), to double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency and to double the share of renewables in the global energy mix.

The world invests US$9 billion annually in access to electricity and clean cooking facilities. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates, in its World Energy Outlook 2011, that this will rise to US$14 billion by 2030. But, says the IEA, it needs soar to US$48 billion to meet the SE4All targets. It is not yet clear whether Rio+20 will furnish SE4All with the international commitment to its targets, or to providing practical and financial support, that critics say it needs.