Least developed country

Reimagining development in the LDCs: an interview with Youba Sokona

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• published: 04 Jul 2016
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This is an interview with Youba Sokona, special advisor on sustainable development, the South Centre, discussing the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, and how they can help Least Development Countries (LDCs) achieve low-carbon development. Sokona says the Paris Agreement on climate change provides a tremendous opportunity for the LDCs to look at how they can implement the SDGs, because energy is one of the critical issues that needs to be addressed in order to achieve the SDGs. He says the SDGs are an opportunity for the LDCs to build their energy systems. Within the SDG context, energy is one of the main concerns of micro-, small-scale and mid-size enterprises, as well as for small-scale farming. Sokona notes that renewable energy systems are modular and scalable, making them particularly suitable to be deployed in LDC countries. This gives LDCs a tremendous opportunity to jump-start low-carbon development. He says the fundamental challenges that the LDCs need to face include getting access financial resources in place, reforming regulatory systems and access to technology. Sokona was interviewed at a dialogue event on 13 June 2016. The event, entitled, 'Reimagining development in the LDCs: what role for the SDGs?', was organised by the LDC IEG, IIED and the ESRC's STEPS Centre. More information: http://www.iied.org/reimagining-LDCs