A total of 675 million people worldwide still lack access to electricity, while up to 2.3 billion people around the world are still using polluting fuels to cook, according to a new report released recently.
Findings from the report showed that most of the 675 million people without access to electricity were in sub-Saharan Africa.
It further revealed that the world is not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 for energy by 2030, which will negatively impact the health of millions and accelerate climate change.
The Annual Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report 2023 was published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“While the transition to clean energy is happening faster than people think, a great deal of work is still needed to provide it to the billions still living without it,” said Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA.
He said that the energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to have a profound impact on people all around the world. According to him, high energy prices have hit the most vulnerable hard, particularly those in developing economies.
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According to the report, global access to electricity increased from 84 percent in 2010 to 91 percent in 2021, but the pace of growth slowed in 2019-2021, which includes the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It further showed that more than 80 percent of those without electricity – 567 million in 2021 – lived in sub-Saharan Africa, similar to the deficit in 2010. While the electrification of rural areas contributed to progress, there is still a large gap in urban areas, it said.
“Cost-competitive renewable energy has yet again demonstrated remarkable resilience, but the poorest in the world are still largely unable to fully benefit from it,” said Francesco La Camera, director-general of IRENA.
According to him, to realise SDG 7 without compromising climate goals, we must bring about systemic change in the way international cooperation works.
“It is crucial that multilateral financial institutions direct financial flows more equitably around the world to support renewables deployment and related physical infrastructure development.”
The global energy crisis is expected to stimulate the deployment of renewables and improve energy efficiency with several government policies pointing to increasing investment.
However, IRENA estimates show that international public financial flows in support of clean energy in low- and middle-income countries have been decreasing since before the COVID-19 pandemic and funding is limited to a small number of countries.
To meet SDG 7 targets and to ensure that people fully benefit from the socio-economic gains of the shift to sustainable energy, it is necessary to structurally reform international public finance and define new opportunities to unlock investments.
These gaps will negatively impact the health of our most vulnerable populations and accelerate climate change. According to WHO, 3.2 million people die each year from illnesses caused by the use of polluting fuels and technologies, which increase exposure to toxic levels of household air pollution.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO said investing in clean and renewable solutions to achieve universal energy access “can play a crucial role in protecting the health of our most vulnerable populations.”
Meanwhile, Guangzhe Chen, the World Bank’s vice president for infrastructure, called for urgent efforts “to ensure that the poorest and hardest-to-reach people are not left behind.”
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