Giving Compass' Take:

• Brooking details a recent talk featuring Rachel Kyte, CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, who discussed how we can both provide energy to populations in need, while also addressing climate change.

• There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but it's important to continue the conversation in philanthropy. What can funders do to promote clean energy that can scale?

• Here's more on connecting clean energy and economic development.

In the lead-up to the COP24 climate talks in Poland and in the wake of a major new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Brookings hosted Rachel Kyte, CEO of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) on November 19. She is also the special representative of the U.N. secretary-general for Sustainable Energy for All and a professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Kyte engaged in conversation with Co-Chair of the Cross-Brookings Initiative on Energy and Climate David G. Victor, following introductory remarks by Foreign Policy Vice President and Director Bruce Jones.

Kyte discussed two conflicting goals: providing modern energy services to large populations of the globe that don’t have it and transitioning to lower-carbon economies. This tension occurs amid ongoing conversations about the future of the Paris Agreement and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, as well as amid increasing warnings from the scientific community on the rising impacts of climate change.

She highlighted the need for additional progress in energy transitions in major carbon-emitting sectors like steel and industry, and in transportation. Kyte also highlighted the need for more technological innovation in energy systems, emerging technology, and decentralized energy systems like microgrids.

Read the full article about the new dynamics of global energy and climate by Fred Dews at Brookings.