Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7)

Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) calls for “affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” by 2030. It’s three core targets are the foundation for our work:

• Ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services

• Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix

• Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency

From job creation to economic development, from security concerns to the full empowerment of women, energy lies at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - agreed to by the world’s leaders in September 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda. Further information on SDGs.

Globally, the number of people without access to electricity declined from 1.2 billion in 2010 to 733 million in 2020. Electrification through decentralized renewable-based solutions in particular gained momentum. The number of people connected to mini-grids has more than doubled between 2010 and 2019, growing from 5 to 11 million people. However, under current and planned policies and further affected by the COVID-19 crisis, the 2022 Tracking SDG7 Report estimates 670-764 million people would still lack access in 2030, most of them in Sub-Saharan Africa.

At the same time, some 2.4 billion people remained without access to clean cooking in 2020, one third of the global population. Largely stagnant progress since 2010 leads to millions of deaths each year from breathing cooking smoke, and without rapid action to scale up clean cooking the world will fall short of its target by 30 percent come 2030.