THE HAGUE, 03/03/06 - Developing countries must have more access to modern and where possible, renewable energy, in Development Cooperation Minister Agnes van Ardenne's view. She will make a plea for this in her opening speech at Energy Week, in Washington on Monday.

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, the Ugandan Energy Minister Syda Bbumba and Van Ardenne are giving a speech at the opening of the annual meeting of the World Bank. Energy Week this year is foreshadowing the ministerial Sustainable Development Summit (CSD14) in New York at the beginning of May.

An estimated two billion people have no access to electricity or other modern forms of energy, and some three billion are still cooking on wood or charcoal fires. The Netherlands has pledged itself to equip a total of 10 million people in poor countries with modern energy by 2015. It is the only country that has opted for this kind of result-oriented output target. Van Ardenne will call on other countries, and also on the World Bank, to come up with their own output target.

The Netherlands has so far signed contracts aimed at enabling 4.5 million people to cook sustainably and some 1.5 million, to receive electricity connections. The agreements were signed with parties including the development organizations SNV and Novib and companies including Shell Solar, Nuon and Free Energy. There are plans for signing further contracts.