The global progress towards attaining Sustainable Development Goal 7 for energy by 2030 is insufficient.
This is from a report by the International Energy Agency, the International Renewable Energy Agency, the United Nations Statistics Division, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization, published on Tuesday.
“The current efforts are not enough to achieve SDG 7 on time, though there has been some progress on specific elements of the SDG 7 agenda.” the report stressed.
“The Energy Progress Report” is the theme of the 2023 edition of “Tracking SDG 7” and this year marks the halfway point for achieving SDGs by 2030.
SDG 7 is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy. The goal includes reaching universal access to electricity and clean cooking, doubling historical efficiency improvements, and substantially increasing the share of renewables in the global energy mix.
“Attaining the goal would 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 report further said.
“Mounting debt and rising energy prices are worsening the outlook for reaching universal access to clean cooking and electricity.
“Current 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.
“These gaps 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 illness caused using polluting fuels and technologies, which increase exposure to toxic levels of household air pollution,” the report stated.
