In response to decisions taken by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and to Chapter 40 of Agenda 21, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) began working in 1995 to produce an overall set of indicators for sustainable development (ISD).
This effort concluded with a package of 58 ISD, of which only three were energy related annual energy consumption per capita, intensity of energy use, and share of consumption of renewable energy resources (UNDESA, 2001).
In order to complement the effort of the Commission on Sustainable Development and to provide a higher resolution on energy, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) started a long term programme addressing indicators for sustainable energy development (ISED) in 1999.
This was done in cooperation with various other international organisations, including the International Energy Agency (IEA), UNDESA, and some Member States of the IAEA. The project was conceived to:
• Fill the need for a consistent set of energy indicators
• Assist countries in energy and statistical capacity building necessary to promote energy
sustainability
• Supplement the work on general indicators being undertaken by the UN Commission on
Sustainable Development (CSD).