COVID-19 amplifies the urgency of expanding sustainable energy solutions worldwide

Despite accelerated progress over the past decade, the world will lag behind in ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy by 2030, unless efforts are significantly increased, the new Monitoring SDG 7: Energy Progress Report published today 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).

According to the report, significant progress has been made in various aspects of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 before the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. These include a significant reduction in the number of people around the world who lack access to electricity, a strong use of renewable energy for electricity generation and improvements in energy efficiency. Despite this progress, global efforts remain insufficient to achieve the key SDG 7 targets by 2030.

The number of people without access to electricity decreased from 1.2 billion in 2010 to 789 million in 2018, however, in line with policies that were or were planned before the start of the COVID-19 crisis, it is estimated that 620 million more will not always have access by 2030, 85 percent of them in sub-Saharan Africa. SDG 7 calls for universal access to energy by 2030.

Other important elements of the goal still do not change. Nearly 3 billion people were left without access to clean cuisine in 2017, mostly in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The great stagnant progress since 2010 leads to millions of deaths each year from inhaling cooking smoke. The share of renewable energy sources in the global energy mix is ​​gradually increasing, despite the rapid growth of wind and solar energy in electricity generation. Renewable energy needs to be accelerated in all sectors in order to move closer to achieving the SDG 7 target, with advances in heating and transport currently lagging far behind their potential. After strong progress in global energy efficiency between 2015 and 2016, the pace has slowed. The rate of improvement needs to accelerate drastically, from 1.7 percent in 2017 to at least 3 percent in the coming years.

Accelerating the pace of progress in all regions and sectors will require stronger political commitment, long-term energy planning, increased public and private funding, and adequate policies and fiscal incentives to accelerate the introduction of new technologies. Increased emphasis on “leaving no one behind” This is necessary, given the large part of the population without access to remote, rural, poorer and vulnerable communities.

The 2020 report introduces monitoring of a new indicator, 7.A.1., Of international financial flows to developing countries to support clean and renewable energy. Although total flows have doubled since 2010, reaching $ 21.4 billion in 2017, only 12 percent has reached the least developed countries, which are furthest from achieving the various SDG 7 targets.

The UN Statistical Commission has identified five custodian agencies in a report to collect and verify country data, along with regional and global aggregates, on progress towards the SDG 7 targets. The report presents policy makers and development partners with data at the global, regional level. and at the national level to inform about decisions and set priorities for a sustainable recovery from COVID-19 that increases affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy. This collaborative work once again highlights the importance of reliable data to inform policy-making, as well as the opportunity to improve data quality through international cooperation to further strengthen national capacities. The report was sent by the SDG 7 Trust Body to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to report on the annual review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Key prominent goals of SDG7

Note that the findings are based on international compilations of official data at the national level until 2018, and are also based on an analysis of recent trends and policies related to the SDG 7 objectives.

Electricity access: Since 2010, more than a billion people have gained access to electricity. As a result, 90 percent of the planet’s population was connected in 2018. Yet 789 million people still live without electricity and despite accelerated progress in recent years, it appears that the SDG’s goal of universal access by 2030 is unlikely to be met, especially if the COVID-19 pandemic severely hampers electrification efforts. There are still regional differences. Latin America and the Caribbean, East Asia and Southeast Asia are approaching a universal approach, but sub-Saharan Africa is lagging behind, accounting for 70 percent of the global deficit. Several large countries with a lack of access in the region have electrification growth rates that are not in step with population growth. Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have the largest deficits, with 85 million and 68 million people not being electrified. India has the third largest deficit with 64 million non-electrified people, although its electrification rate exceeds population growth. Among the 20 countries with the largest access deficits, Bangladesh, Kenya and Uganda showed the greatest improvement since 2010, thanks to annual electrification growth rates of more than 3.5 percentage points, driven mainly by a comprehensive approach that combined grid, mini-grid and power outage. solar electrification.

Clean cooking: Nearly three billion people have been left without access to clean fuels and cooking technologies, living mainly in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. During the period from 2010 to 2018, progress is still largely stagnant, and the rate of increase in access to clean cuisine has even slowed since 2012 in some countries, lagging behind in population growth. The top 20 countries that lack access to clean cooking accounted for 82 percent of the global population without access between 2014 and 2018. This lack of clean access to cooking continues to have serious gender, health and climate consequences that affect not only the SDG goal. 7.1, but also progress towards several other related SDGs. According to current and planned policies, 2.3 billion people will continue to be denied access to clean fuels and cooking technologies in 2030. The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to reduce the tax on long-term exposure of women and children to household air pollution caused mainly by raw coal, kerosene or the traditional use of biomass for cooking. Without quick action, the world will lag behind the goal of a universal cooking approach by nearly 30 percent. Greater access to clean cuisine has been achieved in large part in two regions of Asia. From 2010 to 2018, the number of people in need of access in East Asia and Southeast Asia fell from a billion to 0.8 billion. Central and South Asia have also improved access to clean cooking, and in those regions the number of people without access has decreased from 1.11 billion to 1.0 billion.

Renewable energy sources: The share of renewable energy sources in the global energy mix reached 17.3 percent of final energy consumption in 2017, an increase of 17.2 percent in 2016 and 16.3 percent in 2010. Renewable energy consumption (+2.5 percent in 2017) is growing faster than global energy consumption (+1.8 percent in 2017), continuing the trend of evidence since 2011. Most growth in renewable energy has occurred in the electricity sector, thanks to the rapid spread of wind and solar energy, made possible by constant political support and falling costs. Meanwhile, the use of renewable energy sources in heating and transport is lagging behind. Achieving the SDG goal requires accelerating renewable energy in all sectors. The full impact of the COVID-19 crisis on renewables has yet to become clear. Interruptions in supply chains and other areas risk delaying the deployment of windmills and solar voltages. Growth in renewable electricity production appears to have slowed as a result of the pandemic, according to available data. But so far they seem to hold up much better than other major fuels like coal and natural gas.

Energy efficiency: Global primary energy intensity – an important indicator of how strong global economic activity uses energy – improved by 1.7 percent in 2017. That’s better than the 1.3 percent average rate of progress between 1990 and 2010, but still well below the original target rates of 2.6 percent and a marked slowdown from the previous two years. Specific metrics on energy intensity in different sectors indicate that improvements are the fastest in industry and the passenger transport sector by 2 percent since 2010. In the service and housing sectors, they averaged between 1.5 and 2 percent. Freight transport and agriculture lag a little behind. To achieve SDG target 7.3 for energy efficiency, it will require that the overall pace of improvement accelerate significantly to around 3 percent per year between 2017 and 2030. But preliminary estimates suggest that the 2018 and 2019 rates remained significant below that level, which makes even more significant the increase in the coming years needed to achieve the SDG 7 target.

International financial flows: International public financial flows to developing countries to support clean and renewable energy have doubled since 2010, reaching $ 21.4 billion in 2017. These flows mask important differences as only 12 percent of flows in 2017 reach those most in need ( least developed countries and a small island developing country). Accelerating the use of renewable energy in developing countries requires enhanced international cooperation involving stronger public and private engagement to increase financial flows to those most in need – even more so in the post-COVID-19 world.

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“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted deep inequalities around the world in terms of access to modern, affordable and sustainable energy. Electricity is a key foundation for responding to public health emergencies in many countries – but hundreds of millions of people around the world still do not have basic access to it, and most of them are in sub-Saharan Africa, “ He said Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency. “Even before today’s unprecedented crisis, the world was not on track to meet key sustainable energy goals. Now it will probably become even harder to achieve. This means that we must redouble our efforts to bring affordable, reliable and cleaner energy to all, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where it is most needed, to build more advanced and resilient economies. “

“Access to reliable energy is a way of life, especially in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. It is necessary not only to prevent and address the pandemic, but also to accelerate recovery and a better return by ensuring a more sustainable and resilient future for all.” He said Riccardo Puliti, Global Director for Energy and Extractive Industries and Regional Director for Infrastructure in Africa of the World Bank. “The report provides solid data and evidence on why action is needed now, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where the status quo is still 530 million people – or more than twice the population of Nigeria – without electricity in 2030. “

“Renewable energy is key to achieving SDG 7 and building resilient, equitable and sustainable economies in the post-COVID-19 world. Now is more than ever the time for bold international cooperation to bridge the gap in access to energy and put sustainable energy at the heart of economic incentives and recovery measures. IRENA is committed to increasing action with its global membership and partners to direct investment and direct policy interventions toward sustainable development for all of humanity. “ He said Francesco La Camera, Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

“This report is an example of an example of cooperation between SDG 7 trust agencies in presenting comprehensive data and analyzes, providing a common message of progress in ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. As for the current situation, it is concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic can either widen the sustainable energy access gap or accelerate the path to SDG 7, mainly depending on the priorities of national economic stimulus packages and the global response in providing support to those most in need. “ He said Stefan Schweinfest, Director of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD).

“In this time of global health crisis, protecting the health of 3 billion people without clean cooking solutions is more critical than ever. Governments, foundations, donors and the private sector need to join forces to accelerate the transition to clean and sustainable fuels and technologies to protect the health of the most vulnerable. “ He said Dr. Naoko Yamamoto, Assistant Director General, Department of Universal Health Coverage / Healthier Population, World Health Organization (WHO).

This is the sixth edition of this report, formerly known as the Global Tracking Framework (GTF). This year’s edition was chaired by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

The report can be downloaded at http://trackingSDG7.esmap.org/.

Funding for the report was provided by the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP).