Latest data on primary indicators of global progress toward SDG7 targets. Source: IEA, IRENA, UNSD, World Bank, WHO

3. Asia has made progress across all SDG7 targets, thanks to greater investment in energy

There are plenty of positive signs coming out of Asia based on the latest Tracking SDG7 data. From 2010-2109, the biggest drop in the electricity access deficit was in Central and Southern Asia [3], going from 440 million in 2010 to 103 million in 2019.

The two regions of Central and Southern Asia and Eastern and South Eastern Asia also accounted for the majority of access gains in clean cooking for the same period.

Asia also stands out for its improvements in energy intensity (i.e. energy efficiency), with Eastern and South Eastern Asia seeing an annual average rate of improvement of 3.1 percent. This contrasts with overall global progress on energy intensity, which is seeing a continuing slowdown of improvement.

Asia’s progress has been underpinned by finance, with Central and Southern Asia seeing the largest growth in annual average public financial flows, with a close to sixfold increase in the last decade. Tracking recent progress, Eastern and South Eastern Asia was the only region to have an increase in public financial flows for energy from 2017 to 2018.

4. Sub-Saharan Africa is falling further behind on energy access and efficiency

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the 2019 electricity access rate was just 46 percent: with an increase from 548 million people in 2018 to 570 million people who still lacked access to electricity. The world’s 20 least-electrified countries in terms of percentage of population with electricity are all in Sub-Saharan Africa.  

And for the first time, more people without access to clean cooking solutions are in Sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else. In the last decade, population growth has outpaced new clean cooking access, resulting in 50 percent more people without access to clean cooking solutions in the region.

Sub-Saharan Africa also has one of the lowest average annual improvement rates in energy intensity at just 1.4 percent, well below the global average of 2.0 percent in 2019 and the 3.0 percent needed to achieve the SDG7 target.

5. Modern renewables and energy efficiency are pillars of a clean energy transition that supports development – they need to be scaled up

Measuring progress on SDG7 should include looking beyond minimal energy access for basic household services to sufficient levels for job creation and income generation. Developing countries need sufficient electricity to power businesses and grow their economies, but this electricity needs to come from low-carbon sources to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and to deliver on development priorities.

On a positive note, in 2018 a majority of new renewable electricity capacity was installed in developing countries, particularly new solar and wind capacity.

The share of renewables in total final energy consumption (TFEC) has remained steady over the last decade. In 2018, the share of renewable energy sources (including traditional uses of biomass) in TFEC was 17.1 percent.

However, the share of modern renewable sources in TFEC (renewables excluding traditional uses of biomass) increased by a mere 2.5 percent over the past decade to reach 10.7 percent in 2018.

The distinction of modern renewables is important because burning of biomass for heat and cooking is considered a renewable energy source, yet this source can be harmful to people and the environment. 

For example, although Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest share of renewable sources in its energy supply, traditional uses of biomass represent more than 85 percent of this, which contributes to deforestation and negative health impacts.

For meaningful progress to be made towards decarbonization, uptake of modern renewables needs to be scaled up while containing energy consumption through energy efficiency.

The way forward

With 2021 being a pivotal year for SDG7 and the energy transition, we need urgent action to address a lack of political and financial commitment to securing clean, affordable energy for all. The UN High-level Dialogue on Energy in September will look to secure Energy Compacts from governments, companies, development organizations and other stakeholders as voluntary commitments to action across the various areas of SDG7.

Learn more about how you can commit to an Energy Compact here.

[1] Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Réunion Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

[2] Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; China; China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; China, Macao Special Administrative Region; Democratic People's Republic of Korea; Indonesia; Japan; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Malaysia; Mongolia; Myanmar; Philippines; Republic of Korea; Singapore; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Viet Nam

[3] Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Alok Sharma, UK President for the COP 26 Climate Conference, expresses his support for the High-level Dialogue on Energy

The Energy Compacts will start to be rolled out at the Ministerial-level Thematic Forums (21-25 June, virtual) and gather momentum as a major outcome of the High-level Dialogue on Energy in September.

Learn more about how you can commit to an Energy Compact here.