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New Energy World
New Energy World embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low carbon technologies.
Light at the end of the tunnel: solar mini-grids are the solution to energy access
14/8/2024
10 min read
Feature
Affordable, reliable and clean energy is essential to sustainable human development. Ensuring everyone has energy access by 2030 is the seventh United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 7). However, some 685 million people had no electricity and 2.1 billion had no clean cooking fuel in 2022. Connecting this considerable demographic to renewable energy that won’t harm their health or the environment is a major challenge, writes Charlie Bush.
Even worse, the current pace of progress is insufficient to meet any of the 2030 targets for SDG 7 and could leave 660 million people without electricity and 1.8 billion still dependent on polluting fuels and technologies for cooking by 2030. It is predicted that by 2030, the Sub-Saharan Africa region will be home to 85% of the world’s population without electricity. Those lacking access are becoming harder to reach as they live in more remote areas, have lower incomes, and are more heavily concentrated in least-developed countries, many of which are suffering from fragility, conflict and violence, according to Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report 2024.
Some 18 of the 20 countries with the greatest access deficits are located in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the report. Nearly a third of unconnected people can be found in just three countries: Nigeria (86 million people), the Democratic Republic of Congo (78 million) and Ethiopia (55 million).
For at least a decade, the number of people worldwide with access to electricity was improving, but this progress was reversed in 2022.