UN concerned over slow progress of sustainable energy goals by 2030
The United Nations is worried about that the current pace of progress on three global energy goals – access to electricity, renewable energy and efficiency – may make it difficult to meet 2030 targets.
This is the conclusion of a joint report released on April 3 by the World Bank and the International Energy Agency at a United Nations-backed forum in New York.
While there is considerable increase in investments especially renewable energy as seen by the 8.7 percent increase in renewable energy capacity to 161GW in 2016 yet it is not enough to meet the UN goals.
The UN says the rate of access to electricity is slowing down and if the trend is not reversed, projections are that the world will only reach 92 per cent electrification by 2030 – short of universal access and related targets set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by UN Member States in 2015.
In Sub-Saharan Africa where at least 600 million people lack access to electricity according to a World Bank estimate, any shift northwards in raising energy access is good news. About 4.2 per cent renewable energy capacity was added in Africa in 2016 and the bulk of the new additions were not in Sub Saharan Africa.
Rachel Kyte, the UN Secretary-General’s special representative for Sustainable Energy for All, said that while there is “remarkable progress” towards meeting SDG 7 – access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all – “despite good news stories in many parts of the world, when you add it all up, the rate of progress is not fast enough to hit the 2030 targets.”
“The cheaper, easier, faster way to close the global energy access gap is by embracing off-grid renewable technologies To meet Sustainable Energy for All objectives, renewable energy investment would need to increase by an estimated factor of 2-3, while energy efficiency investment would need to increase by a factor of 3-6. To reach universal access by 2030, the report suggests that a five-fold increase would be needed,” says a statement from the UN.
The UN is now calling for increased investments in renewable and more efforts directed at energy efficiency from some of the world’s biggest energy consumers.
According to Kyte, it is possible to lift the 1.1 billion people out of ‘energy poverty’ while simultaneously improving energy efficiency in their countries, along with their emissions records.
“The cheaper, easier, faster way to close the global energy access gap is by embracing off-grid renewable technologies,” she explained.
The report recommends that some of the 20 largest energy consuming countries including Australia, China, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, and the United Kingdom cut energy intensity by more than two per cent annually especially in industrial sector, while more energy efficiency in residential buildings.
ISAAC ANYAOGU