- More than 25 million people could not afford to pay for electricity access in 2020.
- The number of people without electricity access in Africa rose for the first time in six years last year.
- Achieving universal energy access by 2030 is unlikely.
The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many more people lacking energy access across Africa and Asia. As a result, it may be impossible for countries to meet the universal energy access target by 2030. This is according to a recent report released by the International Energy Agency, International Renewable Energy Agency, U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO) The Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report estimates that two-thirds of the 25 million people affected live in sub-Saharan Africa, worsening the region’s electricity deficit.
The pandemic threatens the progress made in the last decade, where electricity access was provided to over 1 billion people. With the number of people without electricity access in Sub Saharan Africa rising in 2020 after falling over the previous six years, meeting the universal energy target is now “in jeopardy,” the report noted. The effects of this could be huge as broader inequalities could be worsened. In addition, electricity, especially for health facilities and services, is needed to support vaccine deployment and the pandemic response in developing countries.
The report notes that not much is being done to alter the current trajectory. Under current and planned policies, an estimated 660 million people would still lack access to power in 2030. The report recommends that developing countries should deploy renewable energy to ramp up electrification efforts in developing countries. The IEA chief, Faith Birol, notes that greater efforts are needed to mobilise and scale up investment to ensure that energy access progress continues in developing economies.