Energy is central to sustainable development. It accelerates social progress and enhances productivity. Over the centuries, energy has transformed economies and societies, spurring industrialization and raising living standards – and proving indispensable for fulfilling numerous basic human needs including nutrition, health, education, warmth, cooling and lighting.
Despite these critical interlinkages, 1.1 billion people remain without access to electricity1and those who continue to rely on wood, coal, charcoal, agriculture residues or animal dung to cook their meals and heat their homes number some 2.9 billion people.
Progress is slow; meanwhile, the world’s electricity demand will grow by more than 70 percent by 2040.
Affordable and clean energy is a complex goal. Choices around energy resources, with their different production and consumption patterns, impact the climate. Over two thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) come from the energy sector alone. This rise in greenhouse gas emissions is contributing to increased intensity and severity of extreme weather events, affecting vulnerable and poor communities the most.
Access to energy also directly affects people, communities, cities and countries in terms of economic growth, food production, health, clean water, security, well-being, education, employment and gender equality. In these and other areas, the world faces urgent and complex challenges related to access, sustainability and efficiency of modern energy services.
Energy crises also have the potential to generate massive economic and political crises, with far-reaching social consequences. Lack of energy solutions in crisis and post-crisis contexts can undermine community and government responses, delaying recovery and undercutting resilience.
Often, energy-related impacts add to the burdens of the poor. Solid fuels and inefficient cooking and heating devices expose households to smoke and fumes causing serious health problems, resulting in more than 4 million premature deaths per annum globally, mostly of women and children.
Moreover, the poor devote a disproportionately large portion of their time to energy- related activities such as gathering fuel wood and water, cooking and agro-processing. This burden falls mainly on women and children, who can spend up to six hours per day on such tasks.
The urban poor in many developing countries, who typically have some access to energy, also face a number of challenges. They often experience irregular electricity supply, frequent blackouts, and quality problems associated with the electrical grid such as low or fluctuating voltage.
Affordability is another factor, and households may be forced to remain without electricity due to high connection fees and tariffs. Informal or illegal connections, a common practice in many urban centres, strain the electrical supply and often pose significant safety hazards due to poor wiring and lack of safety devices.
The centrality of energy to economic growth, social progress and environmental sustainability is recognized in the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as Goal 7:
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
Progress towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals seeking poverty eradication, better health and education, gender equality, clean water and food security also depend on the achievement of the energy goal. Without sustainable energy, other commitments also will remain unfulfilled, such as addressing climate challenges and stabilizing the global increase in average temperature to well below two degrees Celsius, as called for in the Paris Agreement.
Energy access is defined as reliable and affordable access to clean modern energy carriers and end-use services for households and communities. It is crucial for people’s livelihoods and countries’ economic growth.
Energy access has many benefits. Households will improve their livelihoods when they have access to sustainable, clean and affordable energy. With continuous access to affordable energy, access to basic public services such as education and health will improve. Small and medium enterprises will be more competitive and with increased productivity can contribute more to job creation and economic growth.
Energy efficiency is key to the transformation of energy and production systems. It is a proven, immediate and cost- effective option that can provide long-term benefits. Energy efficiency is regarded by many as a "first fuel" or source of energy in its own right in which countries can invest ahead of other more complex or costly energy sources.
It offers a unique opportunity to reconcile economic competitiveness with sustainable development by reducing or delaying the need for new energy supplies. It provides the added benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, local air pollution and the cost of energy while increasing energy productivity.
The IEA estimates that energy efficiency can potentially contribute almost 40 percent of the reductions in energy sector GHG emissions required by 2050 to limit global temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius or less, if the right enabling policies and investments are in place.
Efficiency measures can also yield benefits of up to 2.5 times the avoided energy costs and can create up to three times the number of jobs per million dollars of investment compared with investment in fossil fuels.
Energy efficiency improvements, in particular in residential and public sectors, have proven to deliver a wide range of social, environmental and economic benefits, including energy security, job creation, poverty alleviation, improved health, and GHG emissions reduction.
Renewable energy offers an immediate opportunity to remove carbon from the energy sector to meet climate targets. It also provides viable and cost-effective options for expanding access to the energy poor through decentralized solutions, particularly for those in rural and remote areas.
It is estimated that 70 percent of the 1.3 billion people without electricity can have access only through decentralized off- grid solutions where renewables provide a more rapid and viable win-win solution.
This requires the right policies and the impetus of private sector investments. Renewable energy can help reduce dependence on imported fuels and vulnerability to fossil fuel price fluctuations.
It contributes to improving local air quality and reduces the energy sector’s dependence on water for energy extraction and production, thus reducing conflicts with agriculture and other end-uses while contributing to vital economic activities in the water supply chain such as irrigation, desalination, pumping and heating.
In addition, investments in renewable energy technologies and supply systems create new economic opportunities generating new jobs.
Source: UNDP
#Joshua D. Mosshart
