What is UNISE?

To begin the shift toward a sustainable energy future, UNDP, through its Energy and Atmosphere Programme (EAP), developed the UNDP Initiative for Sustainable Energy (UNISE), which is a strategy to place energy within the United Nations sustainable human development paradigm. UNISE describes how energy relates to UNDP’s thematic areas and programme goals (poverty alleviation, improvement of the situation of women, job creation, and environmental protection and regeneration), and outlines how energy programmes and projects can become instrumental in achieving sustainable development. The current challenge is to move beyond advocacy for sustainable energy and to provide operational tools, efficient organisational approaches, and wide information networks for integration of energy concerns into the specific activities within the country programming process. UNISE can be thought of as the continuous thread linking the UNDP programme goals and providing the primary entry point to capacity building at the country level.