“Wame & EXPO2015”: Association for World Access to energy presented today

Eight major energy companies of Italy and Europe and the Expo2015 company present the Association “World Access to Modern Energy & Expo2015” which works towards modern energy for all

Rome, 11 March 2014 –  The “WAME & EXPO2015” Association has been presented today in the Foreign Press Premises. The Association is the result of an alliance between the Expo2015 company and eight leading European energy companies: A2A, Edison, Enel, Eni, E.ON Italia, Gas Natural Italia, GDF SUEZ Energia Italia and Tenaris.    “WAME & Expo2015” operates towards Expo2015, which will be held in Milan between the 1st of May and the 31st  of October 2015. Its aims to attract the attention of the world public opinion on the lack of access to modern energy, and raise the general awareness of the issue, making good practices and implemented projects better known, promoting further research efforts in technology, economics and social organisation.   Currently nearly 1.3 billion people have no access to electricity; and more than 40% of the world population does not have access to energy infrastructure with adequate standards of quality and efficiency. Such conditions aggravate the status of extreme poverty and strongly impact on climate change.   In addition, around 38 per cent of the world population has no access to clean cooking and heating facilities, i.e. it relies on traditional combustion of wood and other vegetable and animal material with consequent household air pollution which causes damage to human health. The World Health Organization estimates that over 1.45 million people die prematurely each year from household air pollution due to this inefficient combustion.   Wider access to modern energy is crucial for easing access to water and food resources and for the general goal of reducing extreme poverty and enhancing opportunities for human development.   WAME invites NGOS, Governments, International Agencies and all active parties in this sector, to a dialogue and to participate to the project. All contributions will be validated at a scientific level and made available on the web site www.wame2015.org.   The Top Management of the Member Companies was in attendance at the conference.  “Access to energy must become a fundamental right of the people, so to guarantee the benefits of the modern society to everybody. In the current economic context we have to look not only after the countries which are historically less developed but also Europe itself where many households experience difficulties with their power and gas supplies” said Bruno Lescoeur, CEO of Edison