This briefing paper summarises the
state of the debate on progress in energy for sustainable development and
outlines key challenges for policy in the future, particularly in
relation to the three objectives of the United Nations Secretary
General’s
Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) Initiative:
- ensuring universal access to modern energy services;
- doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency;
- doubling the share of renewable energy in the global mix.
Key messages:
- Energy plays a key role in economic growth and poverty
reduction, and has been described as “the golden thread that weaves
together the economy, the environment and equity”. Yet 1.4 billion
people still have no access to electricity and 2.7 billion people lack
clean and safe energy for cooking.
- There has been major
progress in energy access in recent decades: between 1990 and 2008,
around 2 billion people gained access to electricity. The expansion of
the use of renewable energy and improvements in energy efficiency have
been stronger in developing countries than in developed countries over
this same period.
- Both industrialised and developing countries
need to develop long-term low carbon development plans to deliver green
growth and build lower-carbon energy systems. And an investment of just
3% more in modern energy services would meet the basic energy needs of
around 33% of the world’s population.
