A UN-backed report has warned that the world is drifting off course in its efforts to achieve universal energy access by 2030, with Sub-Saharan Africa facing a widening energy crisis, despite record growth in renewable power.
The findings, published in the latest tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, reveal that more than 655 million people around the world remain without electricity, while nearly two billion continue to rely on polluting fuels and technologies for cooking.
The report highlights a growing divide between countries benefiting from the clean energy transition and those still struggling to provide basic energy services. It notes that more than 560 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa lack electricity, while nearly one billion remain without access to clean cooking solutions.
According to the report, although renewable energy now accounts for more than 30 per cent of global electricity generation and investments in clean energy continue to rise, millions of people remain excluded from these gains.
The report warns that progress in Sub-Saharan Africa has slowed significantly and that the pace of electrification must triple if the world is to meet Sustainable Development Goal 7, which seeks to ensure access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all by the end of the decade.
The findings underscore a growing paradox at the heart of the global energy transition. While wealthy nations are accelerating investments in solar, wind and battery technologies, many poorer countries remain trapped in energy poverty.
Valerie Levkov, Vice-President for Infrastructure at the World Bank Group, said the consequences extend far beyond energy access.
“Millions of people still live without access to electricity,” she said, warning that communities are being denied opportunities for economic growth, job creation and development.
Levkov argued that while proven technologies and financing models already exist, constrained public budgets mean significantly greater private-sector investment will be needed to bridge the gap.
