Skip to main content

Promoting sustainable energy

UNECE supports countries’ sustainable energy transition through a comprehensive approach aiming to improve access to affordable and clean energy for all and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon footprint of the region’s energy sector.


Examples include:


  • UNECE helps countries to develop national strategies on energy efficiency, renewable energy and low-carbon development. Recent examples include Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russian Federation, Serbia, and Ukraine.
  • UNECE provides a platform for policy makers, financial institutions and technology developers to increase investment in renewable energy technology in the region based on improved data and policy dialogues. 
  • UNECE is working with countries and industry to reduce the ecological footprint of fossil fuels in order to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement: disseminating best practices for deploying high efficiency, low emissions fossil technology with carbon capture and storage; developing standards, technologies and best practices for reporting and reducing methane emissions; and modernizing classification systems to support sustainable resource management.

From regional coordination to local impact: a UNECE field project introduced a renewable energy solution in rural Kyrgyzstan through a cost-effective green technology biogas model. The biogas plant produces 116,650 cubic metres of biogas for heating plus 200 tonnes of organic fertilizers annually, sufficient to fertilize 200 hectares of arable farmland and to save USD 14,000 annually. The methane produced will replace 6.4 tonnes of diesel fuel, which will save an additional USD 3,120 in heating costs every year.

UNECE supports the sustainable use of forests for wood energy, which is the region’s primary renewable energy source representing 50% of renewable energy use.

UN vehicle regulations developed at UNECE support the widespread introduction of renewable and sustainable fuel technologies including electric, hybrid and hydrogen.