Under its Sustainable Energy for All initiative, the UN is mobilising commitments from business, the financial sector, government, and civil society in the run-up to the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development to further its objectives.

“I expect this summit to bring forth serious commitments to the Sustainable Energy for All initiative … commitments that reduce energy poverty, foster economic dynamism, and protect our planet,” Ki-moon said.

“That is why I am here, and why this initiative is among my top priorities.”

Access to energy is a global issue that is often overlooked in the issue of poverty. According to the UN, more than 1.4 billion people worldwide have no access to electricity, approximately 3 billion people rely on traditional biomass for cooking and heating and up to a billion more have access only to unreliable electricity networks.

The “energy-poor” suffer economic consequences of insufficient power for productive income-generating activities and for other basic services such as health and education.

Alongside his keynote address at the World Future Energy Summit, Ki-moon is scheduled to deliver remarks to the second session of the assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency also taking place in Abu Dhabi, on January 14-15, 2012.

More than 26,000 attendees, including 3000 delegates, 650 exhibiting companies and 20 national pavilions, are expected to participate in the World Future Energy Summit.