Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Cluster System and Energy
The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) established the Humanitarian Cluster System in 2005 to strengthen coordination across UN and non-UN partners engaged in non-refugee humanitarian emergencies.[1] It includes 11 global clusters, each led by designated UN agencies in collaboration with NGOs and national authorities.[2] In emergencies that include refugees, UNHCR applies the Refugee Coordination Model (RCM), which calls for the establishment of inter-sectoral working groups that closely mirror the cluster system.[3]
Energy is not a standalone need and is instead a cross-cutting enabler that is essential to the work and smooth functioning of all clusters in the system.[4] However, the lack of a designated cluster for energy has meant that its coordination within the humanitarian response is often fragmented and deprioritized. This leads to siloed procurement and implementation of energy solutions, hinders the uptake of solar and other renewable and low-carbon energy technologies by humanitarian actors, and limits the ability of these actors to provide reliable energy access to communities in protracted situations of fragility and displacement.
In contrast, improved coordination of energy in the humanitarian response has a number of benefits for organizations, including cost savings and enhanced security of operational energy supply for all cluster partners. Greater coordination is also essential for accelerating the humanitarian sector’s progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals and particularly SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy for All and SDG 13: Climate Action.
- ↑ United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “We Coordinate.” UNOCHA. Accessed May 1, 2025. https://www.unocha.org/we-coordinate.
- ↑ UNHCR. “Cluster Approach.” UNHCR Emergency Handbook. Accessed May 1, 2025. https://emergency.unhcr.org/coordination-and-communication/cluster-system/cluster-approach.
- ↑ UNHCR. “Refugee Coordination Model (RCM).” UNHCR Emergency Handbook. Accessed May 1, 2025. https://emergency.unhcr.org/coordination-and-communication/refugee-coordination-model/refugee-coordination-model-rcm.
- ↑ Thomas, Patrick J.M., Sarah Rosenberg-Jansen, and Abigail Jenks. “Moving Beyond Informal Action: Sustainable Energy and the Humanitarian Response System.” Journal of International Humanitarian Action 6, no. 1 (2021): 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41018-021-00102-x.
