NGOs and Energy

Organizational goals of nongovernmental organiza­tions (NGOs) include empowering people socially, economically, or politically; serving underserved or neglected populations; and protecting the local or global environment. To fulfill these objectives, NGOs are involved in a range of activities, including deliver­ing welfare and development services, monitoring, critiquing and advocating policies, and providing information to citizens (and even to policymakers).

Although such citizens organizations have been a part of the landscape of societies for centuries, there has been a marked and rapid growth of this sector during recent years. The number of NGOs in most countries, as well as those operating transnationally, has increased substantially during the past couple of decades, as have the functions of these organizations. Consequently, these NGOs are playing an increas­ingly prominent role in many aspects of domestic affairs (within industrialized and developing coun­tries) as well as in the international arena, resulting in what Edwards and Hulme referred to as the ‘‘rise and rise of NGOs’’ and what Salamon referred to as a ‘‘revolution.’’ Nowhere is this transformation more prominent than in the environment and development arena. Whereas fewer than 300 NGOs attended the Stockholm Conference on the Environment in 1972, approximately 1400 NGOs registered for the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992 and roughly 18,000 NGOs attended the parallel NGO forum. More recently, more than 8000 NGOs attended the World Summit on Sustainable Develop­ment (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa, and approximately 30,000 NGOs participated in the related Civil Society Forum. By now, NGOs and their networks are central players on the landscape of environmental politics and action.