As prepared for delivery

Mr. Secretary-General, 

Excellencies,  

Distinguished guests, 

Thank you, Secretary-General, and thank you to the Türkiye Presidency for prioritizing electrification in this COP’s Action Agenda. 

The Paris Agreement unites countries around a shared commitment to fight climate change. 

And to accelerate the transition to clean, secure and affordable energy.  

And grids are central to making it happen. 

Two months ago in New York, we launched the Global Grids Accelerator.  

Today in Antalya, we put it to work. 

Energy is now at the heart of economic prosperity, security and resilience.  

Conflicts, and the cost-of-living crisis have made affordable energy a question of national security and household budgets.  

Renewable technology has made it an opportunity for creating jobs. 

And the digital economy runs on electricity too. 

And all of these considerations meet in one place: the grid. 

The grid decides whether a farmer can keep her harvest fresh. 

Whether a clinic can keep its vaccines cold. 

And whether a country can process its minerals at home or ships them abroad. 

Simply put, a solar panel without a grid is a promise of clean energy without a delivery address. 

The Global Grids Accelerator can help in three ways. 

First, connect countries. 

Electrons do not stop at borders, and our planning should not either. 

One power line now carries Ethiopian hydropower to Kenyan homes and factories. 

Ethiopia expects up to US $100 million a year in export earnings.

And Kenya saved up to US $10 million in the first year alone. 

Through UN-Energy and the UN Task Force on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, UNDP will work across the UN system to build more connections like these.  

With our partners, we will help link national plans and Mission 300 compacts with Africa’s Continental Power Systems Masterplan and the ASEAN Power Grid – connecting across the region.

Second, create jobs. 

Every kilometre of grid is built by electricians, engineers and local firms. 

A single transmission auction in Brazil is expected to bring 1,200 kilometres of new lines and almost 19,000 jobs.  

Those jobs only stay local if the skills are there when the investment arrives. 

We are drawing on expertise and initiatives across the organization to strengthen the entire value chain. 

Through UNDP’s new Investment Accelerator, we help bring investment to these targeted grid solutions. 

Through our Jobs for Prosperity Facility, we will help make sure local workers and businesses are ready for it. 

Third, build for the next shock. 

When floods hit Nepal this summer, more than 430 megawatts of power plants went offline within days.  

The lesson is clear. 

The best time to make a grid resilient is before the flood. 

Grids built with backup, local generation and smart controls recover faster. 

Leveraging UNDP’s new Moving Beyond Crisis flagship initiative, UNDP will bring its experience and offer to prepare, respond and transition in crisis settings to the Grids Accelerator.  

This contributes directly to the UN System-wide effort to deliver the Paris goals. 

In response to the Secretary-General’s request: through the Climate Promise: Forward initiative, the UN system is assisting countries to turn climate ambition into real-world investment, including in clean and resilient energy systems. 

Excellencies, 

This event asks partners for concrete offers.  

Here is UNDP’s: Together with UNOPS and Sustainable Energy for All, UNDP will lead joint country support for delivering government priorities. 

Each engagement will have a national lead, a financing partner and a milestone for 2027. 

So let us leave Antalya with the first priorities agreed. 

And a Programme of Work for 2027 on the table. 

The energy transition is coming. 

Let’s build the grids that give it a delivery address, starting here in Antalya. 

Thank you.