Up to 2.3 billion people still use polluting fuels and technologies for cooking, largely in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
The
world is not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 for
energy by 2030 as the clock ticks halfway towards the 2030 development
agenda.
A
new
report finds that mounting
debt and rising energy prices are worsening the outlook for reaching universal
access to clean cooking and electricity.
The
report was released 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) on Tuesday.Uganda is among the countries majority of whose populations still depend on dirty energy sources for cooking.
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics(UBOS) in 2021 found that charcoal’s urban energy primacy has persisted,
providing the primary energy for up to 80% of Kampala’s population.UBOS also found that charcoal, wood, and other forms of biomass together provide more than
90% of the total primary energy consumed in Uganda, with electricity contributing
2% and petroleum 10%.
The Ministry of Energy in 2020 found that even in the industrial sector, , biomass energy is more than ten times
the electrical energy used and approximately six times petroleum.
Projections estimate that 1.9 billion people will be without clean cooking and
660 million without electricity access in 2030 if we do not take further action
and continue with current efforts.
Those
gaps according to the report will negatively impact the health of our most
vulnerable populations and accelerate climate change.
According
to WHO, 3.2 million people die each year from illnesses caused by the use of
polluting fuels and technologies, which increase exposure to toxic levels of
household air pollution.
The Director-General, World Health Organization, Dr.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there is a need to protect the next
generation by acting now.
“Investing
in clean and renewable solutions to support universal energy access is how we
can make real change. Clean cooking technologies in homes and reliable
electricity in healthcare facilities can play a crucial role in protecting the
health of our most vulnerable populations.”
SDG 7 strives to ensure
access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy by 2030.
The
goal includes reaching universal access to electricity and clean cooking,
doubling historic levels of efficiency improvements, and substantially
increasing the share of renewables in the global energy mix.
Attaining
this goal will have a deep impact on people’s health and well-being, helping to
protect them from environmental and social risks such as air pollution, and
expanding access to primary health care and services.
The
2023 edition of
Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress
Report warns that 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 using renewables in the power sector – but progress is
insufficient to reach the targets set forth in the SDGs.
The
global energy crisis is expected to stimulate the deployment of renewables and
improve energy efficiency with several government policies pointing to
increasing investment.
However,
the
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates show that international
public financial flows in support of clean energy in low- and middle-income
countries have been decreasing since before the COVID-19 pandemic and funding
is limited to a small number of countries.
Francesco La Camera, Director-General of, International
Renewable Energy Agency said
cost-competitive renewable energy has yet again demonstrated remarkable
resilience, but the poorest in the world are still largely unable to fully
benefit from it.
“To
realise SDG7 without compromising climate goals, we must bring about systemic
change in the way international cooperation works. It is crucial that
multilateral financial institutions direct financial flows more equitably
around the world to support renewables deployment and related physical
infrastructure development.” Francesco
La Camera said
The
report suggests that to meet SDG 7 targets and to ensure that people fully benefit
from the socio-economic gains of the shift to sustainable energy, it is
necessary to structurally reform international public finance and define new
opportunities to unlock investments.
Key
findings of the report
In
2010, 84% of the world’s population had access to electricity. This increased
to 91% in 2021, meaning more than a billion people gained access over that
period. However, the growth pace of access slowed in 2019–2021 compared to
previous years. Rural electrification efforts contributed to this progress, but
a large gap within urban areas remains.
In
2021, 567 million people in sub-Saharan Africa did not have access to
electricity, accounting for more than 80% of the global population without
access. The access deficit in the region stayed almost the same as in 2010.
Up to 2.3 billion people still use polluting fuels and technologies for
cooking, largely in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
The use of traditional biomass
also means households spend up to 40 hours a week gathering firewood and
cooking, which prohibits women from pursuing employment or participating in
local decision-making bodies and children from going to school.
According
to the 2019 WHO estimates, 3.2 million premature deaths each year were
attributable to household air pollution created by using polluting fuels and
technologies for cooking.
The
report will be presented to top decision-makers at a special launch event on 11
July 2023 at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development,
ahead of the second SDG Summit in September 2023 in New York.
The authors urge
the international community and policymakers to safeguard the gains made toward
achieving SDG 7, to advance structural reforms, and
to maintain a strategic focus on the vulnerable countries needing the most
support.
