In 2015, United Nations Member States collectively adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, establishing 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to frame a global call to action for all nations. SDG7 involves ensuring “affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” by 2030.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), in collaboration with the International Renewable Energy Agency, United Nations Statistics Division, World Bank, and WHO, recently presented the “Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2023”. This report outlines the challenges preventing the achievement of UN’s SDG7.
Major Highlights and Obstacles
Among the issues blocking progress towards SDG7, economic factors like high inflation, uncertain macroeconomic outlook, debt distress, and reduced financial flows stick out. There are also numerous concerns about currency fluctuations in various countries, lack of funding, supply chain bottlenecks, tighter fiscal conditions, and rising materials prices.
Progress Towards Specific Targets: Access to Electricity and Clean Cooking
Worldwide access to electricity increased from 84% to 91% between 2010 and 2021, but growth has stalled. The figure for people without electricity decreased from 1.1 billion in 2010 to 675 million in 2021. Unfortunately, the goal of universal electricity access by 2030 still seems unattainable.
Access to clean cooking rose from 2.9 billion people in 2010 to 2.3 billion in 2021. Still, it is projected that nearly 1.9 billion people might lack this access by 2030. The report suggests that approximately 100 million people who recently transitioned to clean cooking might revert to traditional biomass usage. Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to have the highest number of people without access to clean cooking in 2030.
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
The use of renewable energy has grown since 2010, but requires substantial scaling up. The proportion of renewable energy in total final energy consumption remains relatively low at 19.1% (12.5% excluding traditional biomass). To meet international climate and energy goals, investments of USD 1.4-1.7 trillion annually in renewable electricity generation and related infrastructure through 2030 are necessary.
On the other hand, the current rate of improvement in energy efficiency is not on track to double by 2030. The average annual growth of 1.8% falls short of the targeted increase of 2.6% per year between 2010 and 2030.
International Public Financial Flows
Financial flows supporting clean energy in developing countries have been declining since 2020. These financial resources are more than a third lower than the previous decade’s average (2010-2019). This decreasing trend in financial flows primarily affects a small number of countries, making achievement of SDG7 particularly challenging for least-developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states.
The Origin and Current Status of Sustainable Development Goals
The origins of the SDGs can be traced back to June 1992, when over 178 countries adopted Agenda 21, a comprehensive plan of action for sustainable development, at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In September 2000, Member States unanimously adopted the Millennium Declaration, leading to the creation of eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce extreme poverty by 2015.
After several major agreements were put in place in 2015, the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development now serves as the central UN platform for the follow-up and review of the SDGs. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) provides support and capacity-building for the SDGs and their related thematic issues.
In addition to the core targets for ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services, substantially increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix, and doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency, SDG7 also aims to broaden access to clean energy research, promote investment in energy infrastructure, and upgrade technology for a sustainable and modern energy supply.
