WHEREAS the United Nations Environment Programme (hereinafter referred to as "UNEP") was established by United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution 2997 (XXVII) of 15 December 1972;
CONSIDERING the mission of UNEP is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations;
RECALLING that the UNEP Governing Council has repeatedly emphasised the importance of cooperation with the finance sector to effectively address major environmental issues and for the implementation of strategies approved by the Council;
RECALLING FURTHER that the mission of UNEP's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics is to encourage decision-makers in government, local authorities and industry to develop and adopt policies, strategies and practices that are cleaner and safer, make efficient use of natural resources, and enable implementation of conventions and international agreements;
RECOGNISING that through its Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative (SEFI), UNEP and its collaborating centre BASE are working with leading public and private organisations to shift energy sector investment flows towards renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and processes;
RECOGNISING ALSO that many governments have established funds to promote and invest in sustainable energy technologies, companies or market structures (the "funds");
RECOGNISING ALSO that these fund programmes have similar missions of increasing the use of sustainable energy technologies, reducing environmental pollution and expanding economic opportunities for sustainable energy companies;
RECOGNISING ALSO that the obstacles to achieving success in their missions are similar, including high technology costs, regulatory barriers, siting constraints, and a variety of commercialisation challenges;
RECOGNISING ALSO that these funds desire to work together in collaboration with other funds and agencies and with external partners to pursue joint information sharing, peer-to-peer discussions, collective analysis activities, and joint initiatives and projects that can improve their effectiveness and accelerate expansion of sustainable energy markets across regions;
NOW THEREFORE, UNEP and these funds have decided to establish the SEFI Public Finance Alliance ("SEF Alliance") with the purpose of significantly expanding the joint work of the funds;
NOW THEREFORE, UNEP and these funds establish this Constitution for the SEF Alliance.
ARTICLE 1 - MISSION
The mission of the SEFI Public Finance Alliance (or “SEF Alliance”) is to improve the effectiveness of public and publicly backed funding agencies to finance and transform clean energy markets.
The SEF Alliance targets both developed and emerging markets. For the purposes of the SEF Alliance, “clean energy” is defined to include energy production from solar, wind, hydro, bioenergy, ocean thermal, tidal and wave, geothermal, and fuel cells; related energy storage and conversion technologies; and energy efficiency technologies and processes.
ARTICLE 2 - OBJECTIVES
In order to achieve its mission, and solely in accordance with the interests of its member agencies, the SEF Alliance aims to:
i. Share information about programmes, approaches, strategies, best practices, and operational experiences; develop and undertake joint projects to find solutions to key, cross-cutting problems facing members; and undertake research, policy analysis, and other efforts to promote the use of sustainable energy technologies.
ii. Share data, performance and other expertise on various sustainable energy technologies.
iii. Leverage the resources available to the funds by identifying and exploring opportunities for joint investments in projects that improve the members’ collective cost-effectiveness; by conducting external fundraising efforts; and by looking for ways to increase public and private capital investments in this sector.
iv. Expand the network of relevant contacts and partners that can improve the effectiveness of the member funds, including other governments, private companies, investors, public officials and others.
ARTICLE 3 - MEMBERSHIP
To be a member in good standing of the SEF Alliance, an entity must meet the following criteria:
i. It must be involved in the financing of sustainable energy technologies, projects, or companies;
ii. And it must be current in paying its annual assessment to the SEF Alliance.
Private companies that develop, manufacture, sell or finance clean energy technologies are not eligible for membership unless they have a not-for-dividend or not-for-profit structure. The SEF Alliance shall build partnerships with ineligible companies outside of the context of membership.
Members shall be expected to actively encourage other eligible entities to become members of the SEF Alliance. Once a Steering Committee has been formed, subsequent applications for membership shall be reviewed and approved by the Steering Committee.
ARTICLE 4 - GOVERNANCE
The SEF Alliance shall operate under the remit of UNEP’s Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative (SEFI) and shall be governed by a Steering Committee and administered by UNEP’s Supporting Agencies BASE and the Clean Energy Group (CEG). The Steering Committee will guide activities and programmes. One member of the Steering Committee will be from SEFI; the remaining members must be SEF Alliance members in good standing. Additional non-voting representatives will come from the supporting organisations within the secretariat. The Steering Committee shall be comprised of at least four voting members total, and no more than nine.
Steering Committee members serve for a term of two years, and members may serve consecutive terms. The terms of the Steering Committee members shall be staggered so that one-half of the seats are up for election at each annual meeting. In the first year of operation, the Steering Committee shall be formed according to the start-up procedure outlined in the Strategic Plan; in subsequent years, Steering Committee representatives shall be elected by SEF Alliance members. The Steering Committee shall elect a Chairperson.
The Steering Committee shall attempt to reach decisions based on consensus whenever possible. When this is not possible, decisions shall be made by majority vote of the members present. A quorum of a majority of the members is required for all Steering Committee meetings. The Steering Committee may create other standing and special committees as needed and will designate the membership of these committees. Steering Committee meetings may take place by conference call or Internet conferencing.
ARTICLE 5 - WORK PLAN
The activities that the SEF Alliance undertakes shall be described in an annual Work Plan, which may be amended by the Steering Committee from time to time. The Work Plan for each operational year shall be approved by the Steering Committee before the beginning of that year.
ARTICLE 6 - BUDGET
The budget and member assessments for each operational year shall be determined and approved by the Steering Committee before the beginning of that year.
ARTICLE 7 - TERM AND AMENDMENT
This document takes effect upon approval by consensus of the Steering Committee. Modifications to this document must likewise be approved by consensus of the Steering Committee.
ARTICLE 8 - ARBITRATION
With respect to any dispute, difference, claim, controversy or question among the Parties arising at any time under, out of, in connection with or in relation to this document, the Parties shall endeavour to settle such disputes, differences, claims, controversies or questions by friendly consultation.
ARTICLE 9 - MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
i. All materials produced with the support of SEF Alliance members will appropriately reference each of the members in the materials.
ii. Each SEF Alliance member that contributes funding to a particular project shall have the right to use the work products in their region as they see fit. In addition, each member shall have the right to reproduce and use any work product from any project that they have supported.