2.3 billion people are dependent on dangerous cooking fuels, while 675 million people lack access to electricity.
The world is not on track to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 for energy by 2030, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank, and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The SDGs will be halfway completed by 2030 this year. Access to affordable, dependable, sustainable, and modern energy is a goal of SDG 7. The objective includes tripling past levels of efficiency improvements, achieving universal access to electricity and clean cooking, and significantly raising the proportion of renewable energy sources in the world’s energy mix. Achieving this objective will significantly improve people’s health and well-being by assisting in shielding them from social and environmental dangers including air pollution and increasing access to primary healthcare and services.
The Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report for 2023 cautions that existing efforts are insufficient to meet the SDG 7 deadline. On several SDG 7 priorities, such as the greater use of renewable energy in the power sector, there has been some progress, but not enough to meet the goals outlined in the SDGs.
With many government initiatives pointing to increased investment, the global energy crisis is anticipated to encourage the deployment of renewable energy sources and enhance energy efficiency. However, according to IRENA estimates, funding for renewable energy in low- and middle-income countries has been declining since before the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is only available to a select few nations. It is required to structurally reorganise international public finance and define new investment opportunities in order to accomplish SDG 7 targets and guarantee that people fully benefit from the socioeconomic rewards of the switch to sustainable energy.
The analysis also reveals that the likelihood of achieving universal access to power and clean cooking is deteriorating due to increased debt and rising energy prices. If we do not take additional action and keep up the existing efforts, forecasts show that 1.9 billion people would lack access to clean cooking and 660 million people will not have access to power by 2030.
The health of our most vulnerable populations will suffer as a result of these gaps, which will further hasten climate change. The World Health Organisation estimates that 3.2 million people per year pass away from diseases brought on by the use of technology and fuels that contribute to noxious levels of indoor air pollution.
Major conclusions of the report
– In 2010, 84% of people had access to electricity worldwide. Over a billion additional individuals had access over that time period thanks to the increase in this percentage to 91% in 2021. In contrast to prior years, access growth slowed down in 2019–2021 nevertheless. Rural electrification initiatives have aided in this development, although there is still a significant gap in urban areas.
– More than 80% of the world’s population did not have access to electricity in 2021, with 567 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa. The access gap in the area remained essentially unchanged from 2010.
– The globe is still far from having clean cooking available to everyone by 2030. Around 2.3 billion people still cook with harmful materials and methods, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. In addition, households using traditional biomass spend up to 40 hours a week gathering firewood and cooking, which prevents women from seeking employment or participating in local decision-making bodies and prevents children from attending school.
– The WHO estimated in 2019 that household air pollution caused by the use of polluting fuels and cooking technology resulted in 3.2 million premature deaths annually.
– The percentage of renewable electricity used in worldwide consumption increased from 26.3% in 2019 to 28.2% in 2020, marking the biggest annual rise since the SDGs’ progress tracking began.
– Attempts to raise the proportion of renewable energy in heating and transport, which account for more than 75 percent of global energy use, continue to fall short of the 1.5oC climate goals.
– From 2010 to 2020, there was a 1.8% yearly improvement in energy intensity, which measures how much energy the world economy consumes per dollar of GDP. This represents an improvement over the 1.2% from earlier decades.
However, the pace of increase in energy intensity has decreased recently and will only reach 0.6% in 2020. Being mostly the result of pandemic-related constraints, this makes it the worst year for energy intensity improvement since the global financial crisis, albeit this might just be a short setback. To reach SDG target 7.3, annual increases through 2030 must now average 3.4%.
– In 2021, international public financial flows to assist renewable energy in developing nations would total US$ 10.8 billion, 35% less than the average during the years 2010 to 2019 and just 40% of the US$ 26.4 billion peak in 2017. Eighty percent of the obligations were given to 19 nations in 2021.
Prior to the second SDG Summit in September 2023 in New York, the report will be introduced to key decision-makers at a special launch event on July 11, 2023, at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development. The authors call on the international community and governments to preserve the progress made in reaching SDG 7, push structural changes, and keep a strategic eye on the weaker nations that most require assistance.
