| Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, safe, sustainable and modern energy
The world is moving towards Goal 7 with encouraging signs that energy is becoming more sustainable and widely available. Access to electricity in the poorest countries has started to accelerate, energy efficiency continues to improve and renewable energy are achieving excellent results in the electricity sector.
Despite this, more attention needs to be paid to improving access to clean and safe cooking fuels and technologies for 3 billion people, to expand the use of renewable energy beyond the electricity sector and to increase electrification in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Energy Progress Report provides a global record of progress in energy access, energy efficiency and renewable energy. It assesses each country's progress in these three pillars and provides an overview of the path we still have to travel to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals targets for 2030.
Lack of access to energy could undermine efforts to contain COVID-19 in many parts of the world. Energy services are essential to prevent disease and fight the pandemic; from providing electricity to health facilities and clean water to essential hygiene, to enabling communications and IT services that connect people while maintaining social distance.
789 million people (mostly in sub-Saharan Africa) live without access to electricity and hundreds of millions of people have access to very limited or unreliable electricity. It is estimated that only 28% of healthcare facilities have access to reliable electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite the fact that energy is crucial for people to stay connected in their homes and for the operation of vital equipment in hospitals.
If hospitals and local communities do not have access to energy, the human catastrophe can be magnified and the speed of global recovery can be significantly reduced.
The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative on Sustainable Energy for All explained why access to energy is important during the COVID-19 emergency and described three ways to respond to the emergency:
Prioritize energy solutions to power health centers and first aid teams.
Keeping consumers vulnerable connected.
Increase the production of reliable, uninterrupted and sufficient energy in preparation for a more sustainable economic recovery.
Learn more about the role of energy in responding to COVID-19.
| Notable Data
13% of the world's population still lacks access to modern electricity services.
3 billion people depend on wood, charcoal, charcoal or animal waste to cook and heat their food.
Energy is the main contributor to climate change and is responsible for around 60% of all global greenhouse gas emissions.
Indoor air pollution due to the use of fuels for domestic energy caused 4.3 million deaths in 2012, 6 out of 10 of them were women and girls.
In 2015, 17.5% of final energy consumption came from renewable energies.
| Goal 7
7.1 By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable energy services and modern
7.2 By 2030, significantly increase the share of renewable energy in the energy matrix
7.3 By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency
7th By 2030, increase international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable sources, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil fuel technologies, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean technologies
7.b By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology to provide modern, sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing states and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their respective support programs
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