The Urban Energy Unit within UN-Habitat’s Urban Basic Services Branch (UBSB) was established in July 2009 to assist Habitat Agenda partners in supporting sustainable use of energy in urban areas. In UN-Habitat’s efforts to reach Target 7.D of the Millennium Development Goals, which seeks to improve the lives of 100 million slum dwellers, energy plays an important role. Slums account for unsustainable uses of energy: for example, without the infrastructure for cooking, gas, charcoal and/or other, biomass becomes the primary source of cooking fuel, further propagating deforestation and environmental degradation. Further, the lack of public lighting in dense slums contributes to insecurity. Here, a strong case can be made for introducing effective solar power use in slums. Numerous other technologies would serve the purpose of further introducing the integration of renewable energies into slum upgrading programmes, at low costs with high returns.

In order to tackle the energy challenges in human settlements, UN-Habitat’s strategic approach to sustainable urban energy focuses on four main areas of intervention:

• Energy Access, with special emphasis on the urban poor, women and youth.
  
• Energy Efficiency in the built environment. Renewable Energy
• Technologies to enhance energy supply in urban areas.
• Urban Energy Planning, Legislation and Finance.

• Advocacy, networking and publication of good and best practices, as well as the participation in international dialogues on urban energy and human settlement development.
  
• Developing policies and institutional frameworks to promote access to clean energy, energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
  
• Strengthening institutional efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of urban energy services.
  
• Enhancing consumers’ demand for efficient and environmentally sound basic services.
  
• Designing and implementing pilot/demonstration projects.
  
• Providing technical assistance and capacity building.