SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 7: AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY

Our everyday lives depend on reliable and afford­able energy services to function smoothly and to develop equitably.

A well-established energy system that supports all sectors: from busi­nesses, medicine and education to agriculture, infrastructure, communica­tions and high-technology.

For many decades, fossil fuels such as coal, oil or gas have been major sources of electricity production, but burning carbon fuels produces large amounts of greenhouse gases which cause climate change and have harmful impacts on people’s well-being and the environment.

The environmental impacts of energy systems include local, regional and global pollution from the combustion of fuels, climate change and impacts on the integrity and stability of different ecosystems. This affects everyone, not just a few.

The exact impacts depend on the type of primary energy source, the conversion technology, the size and location of the system and other factors.

Energy is also a major contributor to human health problems, primarily from air pollution caused by the combustion of fuels.

Modern energy is fundamental to human development: it launched the industrial revolution more than two centuries ago and has contributed to the near-continuous economic growth that has been achieved globally since that time.

The services that energy makes possible – from mobility to manufacturing, agriculture to heating and lighting – are ubiquitous in the industrialized world, and have been around for so long that people commonly take for granted what makes these services possible.

Energy resources are unevenly distributed around the world, and where they exist and are relatively easy to produce, the necessary energy extraction and conversion infrastructure (e.g. gas drilling, oil refineries, wind turbines, electricity transmission lines) requires significant sums of money to bring online.

Constraints to financial and human capital often result in some among us being left out of the modern energy society.

Ensuring the world’s poor have access to affordable, reliable and modern energy

services enable the goal of poverty eradication.

 

However, decarbonizing energy systems by promoting renewables and boosting efficiency could result in price shocks if the costs of transition to a low-carbon economy are not buffered in some way.

Some of the poorer regions of the world possess some of the highest quality renewable energy supplies (e.g. biomass and solar power in Africa).

Progress in making use of those potentials could help to reduce poverty, as long as

the benefits accrue to local suppliers. 

Commercializing bioenergy production could lead to the creation of agricultural and forestry jobs, as well as to higher wages and more diversified income streams for land owners (aiding food security).

Providing energy to impoverished farmers is likely to make it easier for them to pump groundwater and mechanized their farm equipment to increase food crop yields, and will enable easier maintenance of cold chains (temperature-controlled supply chains) for marketing produce and thus improving regional diet diversity.

Thermal comfort (heating and cooling) and cooking are key to good health, which highlights the need to ensure access to affordable and reliable energy.

Use of energy-efficient appliances such as clean cook-stoves is fundamental to improving indoor air quality.

Energy is also essential for refrigeration, which contributes to food conservation along the supply chain and helps avoid the health risks associated with bacterial

contamination.

Refrigeration enables rural populations to store the medicines and vaccines necessary for ensuring community health.

Access to energy would expand the number and range of opportunities for women,

for example, enabling women to work from home and thereby generate an independent source of income.

The more empowered women become, the more likely they are to push local initiatives that directly benefit them from an energy-access perspective, since they are often the ones to gain most from the use of cleaner, easier-to-obtain fuels for cooking and lighting.

Without electricity, women and girls have to spend hours fetching water, clinics cannot store vaccines for children, many schoolchildren can­not do homework at night, and people cannot run competitive businesses.

The health and well-being of some people are adversely impacted by the lack of clean cooking fuels, such as wood, char­coal, dung and coal, which causes indoor air pollution.

Access to energy reduces the importance of physical gender differences in the labor force, increasing access to the professions for women.

Public outdoor lighting would increase security for women and girls, potentially

allowing them to continue autonomous activities outside their households after dark. 

Renewables and energy efficiency are a necessary pre-condition for limiting global climate change; in turn, exposure of the poor to climate-related extreme events

will be reduced.

Countries can acceler­ate the transition to an affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy system by investing in renewable energy resources, prior­itizing energy efficient practices, and adopting clean energy technolo­gies and infrastructure.

Businesses can maintain and protect ecosystems to be able to use and fur­ther develop hydropower sources of electricity and bioenergy, and commit to sourcing 100% of oper­ational electricity needs from renewable sources.

Employers can reduce the internal demand for transport by priori­tizing telecommunica­tions and incentivize less energy intensive modes such as train travel over auto and air travel.

Investors can invest more in sustainable energy services, bringing new technologies to the market quickly from a diverse supplier base.

Policies ensuring that the energy system is decarbonized through an upscaling of renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency efforts are critical for limiting the extent of global climate change and, in turn, exposure of the poor to climate-related extreme events.

Conversely, lack of access to energy supplies and transformation systems is a constraint to human and economic development.

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