Countries still far from providing affordable and sustainable energy by 2030: report

People living without electricity grew to over 600m in 2022. 

Achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) no. 7, which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy, is still far from being achieved in six years. 

This was revealed in the 2024 edition of “Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report” by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency, the United Nations Statistics Division, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization.

According to the report, “current efforts are not enough to achieve the SDG 7 on time.”

“There has been some progress on specific elements of the SDG 7 agenda – for example, the increased rate of renewables deployment in the power sector – but progress is insufficient to reach the targets set forth in the SDGs,” an IEA statement read.

As the population grew, the number of people without access to electricity also increased for the first time in over a decade. 

Around 685 million people, who are mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, are living without electricity in 2022. This is 10 million more than in 2021, IEA said.

Some of the factors that caused this were the global energy crisis, inflation, growing debt distress in many low-income countries, and increased geopolitical tensions.

“However, promising trends in the rollout of decentralised energy solutions, largely based on renewable energy, are helping accelerate progress, particularly in rural areas where eight in ten people without access live today,” IEA said.

The report also noted that 2.1 billion people still do not have access to clean cooking fuels and technologies.

“This carries with it huge implications for health, gender equality, and the environment, contributing to 3.2 million premature deaths each year,” IEA said. 

“Renewed political momentum within the context of G7, G20, and new financial commitments made at the Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa are buoying prospects for stronger progress later this decade. Still, efforts remain insufficient to reach universal access to electricity or clean cooking by 2030,” it added.

IEA, meanwhile, noted that other components of SGD 7 are seeing better progress, specifically renewable energy which has seen robust growth over the past two years.

“New global targets pledged by over 130 countries in the UAE Consensus reinforce the objectives of SDG 7 by aiming to triple renewable generating capacity and double the rate of energy efficiency. Immediate concrete actions are required to fulfil these targets, especially in addressing the large disparity in clean energy investment, of which 80% remains concentrated in just 25 countries in 2022,” IEA noted.