Contents

Indicator 7.1.1 Proportion of population with access to electricity ................................................................................................................................................................. 2

Target 7.1 By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services

Indicator 7.1.1 Proportion of population with access to electricity

Stronger action and investments should be accelerated, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, to reach universal access in time as an important step to

unlock opportunities for economic activities and improve living standards.

Globally, the share of people with access to electricity has increased from 84 percent in 2010 to 91 percent in 2021. This is equivalent to an increase of 1.4 million people electrified

over the past decade. Although the pace of electrification bounced back between 2019 and 2021, the recent progress has slowed down compared to the previous years. The annual

access growth in 2019–21 was 0.6 percentage points, electrifying 114 million people each year, a lower rate than 0.8 percentage points in 2015–19 when 135 million people gained

Developed Countries (LDCs). In 2021, the electrification rate of

38 percent in Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand)

also showed a wide gap with the global access rate of 91

percent. In contrast, the other regions became close to

universal access or showed a moderate distance to the target.

The number of people without access has increasingly

concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2021, the top 3

countries with the largest access deficits, including Nigeria,

the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ethiopia were in

the region. According to the Regulatory Indicators for

inclusion in the region.

Indicator 7.1.2 Proportion of population with primary reliance on clean fuels and technology

In 2021, 2.3 billion people still lacked access to clean and safe fuels and technologies

Globally, the number of people without access to clean cooking continues to decrease each year. In 2021, 71 percent of the global population, had access to clean cooking fuels and

technologies. However, large regional variability exists and still 2.3 billion people remain without access to clean cooking and rely primarily on inefficient and polluting cooking

systems.

Most countries with low access rates are in sub-Saharan Africa and

the number of people without access in this SDG region is growing,

currently at a rate of almost 20 million people year. This trend reflects

the fact that gains in the share of people with access are failing to

keep pace with population growth, to the detriment of the almost 1

to 2025. This demonstrates the considerable and urgent need to scale

up action to ensure an additional 1 billion people with access to clean

cooking solutions by 2025, as pledged by the Global Roadmap for

Accelerated SDG7 Action in Support of the 2030 Agenda for

Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate

Change.

Without strengthening further efforts, the overwhelming majority of

low- and middle-income countries could still have rates of access to

clean cooking below 95 percent of the national population in 2050 and

beyond.

Target 7.2 By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix

Indicator 7.2.1 Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption

Progresses in both renewable energy deployment and energy conservation need to scale up rapidly, significantly and durably in all sectors to keep global

energy and climate objectives in reach.

The share of renewable sources in total final energy consumption (TFEC) increased 1.4 percentage point to 19.1% globally in 2020. This progress resulted from a 2.6% year-on-year

increase in renewable energy consumption while TFEC declined 4.7%, as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted social and economic activities worldwide. Since 2015, the share of

renewables in TFEC increased by just 2.4 percentage points despite renewable energy consumption expanding by more than a quarter. This points to the importance of containing

Traditional uses of biomass still represented more than a third of total renewable energy use in 2020, with their share in TFEC slightly rebounding in 2020 after more than a decade

Progress differs across end-use sectors. Renewable electricity records the highest share of renewables among end-use categories (28.2%), and in 2020 saw the largest annual

progression over the past three decades. Hydropower remains by far the largest source of renewable electricity globally, followed by wind and solar PV. Wind and solar PV recorded

electricity used in vehicles and trains continues to expand, albeit from a small basis, owing to new electric vehicles sales and higher share of renewables in electricity used for

transport. Overall, the share of renewable energy in transport rose to 4% in 2020 up from 3.6% in 2019.

Excluding traditional uses of biomass, Latin America and the Caribbean

show the highest share of modern renewable energy in TFEC, owing to

significant hydropower generation, and to the consumption of bioenergy

in industrial processes and biofuels for transport. In 2020, almost half of

the global year-on-year increase in modern renewable energy

consumption took place in Eastern Asia – essentially China – where

wind, hydropower and solar PV dominated the growth, followed by

Europe. The share of renewables in TFEC progressed the fastest in Latin

revived energy security concern in many regions, as 80% of the world’s

population live in countries that are net energy importers. This crisis has

further underscored the value of domestically generated renewable

electricity for energy security and affordability, as well as the importance

of efforts for sustainable industrialisation.

Yet, keeping up with SDG7 and Paris agreement ambitions requires

sustained policy momentum to scale up both renewable energy

deployment and energy conservation in all sectors and mobilise public

and private investment worldwide, particularly in developing countries.

Target 7.3 By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency

Indicator 7.3.1 Energy intensity measured in terms of primary energy and GDP

2020 was the worst year of the decade for energy intensity improvement. A strong rebound is needed to reach SDG7 targets

The rate of improvement in primary energy intensity, which had already slowed in recent years, dropped to 0.6 percent in 2020. This makes it the worst year for energy intensity

improvement since the global financial crisis. Worldwide, energy intensity was 4.63 megajoules (MJ) per U.S. dollar (2017 PPP) in 2020.

Energy intensity improvements thus continue to remain well below the 2.6% needed to reach the target set under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of

doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency globally by 2030, compared to the base period of 1990-2010. Between 2010 and 2020, the average annual rate of improvement

Target 7.a By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy

Target 7.b By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries,

SDG indicator 7.B.1 tracks the installation of renewable energy generating capacity in developing countries. In 2021, there was a record-breaking installation of 268 watts per capita

of renewable capacity, representing a year-on-year growth rate of 9.8%. However, even with this positive and accelerating growth, developing countries are not on track to meet

SDG7 by 2030. Moreover, the positive global and regional trends hide the fact that the countries that are most in need of support are being left behind, even among developing

countries. There are still only four developing countries with more than 1,000 Watts per capita and they are the same as last year (Bhutan, The Lao People’s Democratic Republic

and Uruguay). While the growth rate in renewables capacity per capita was high for the developing world, at a compound annual growth rate of 9.6% over 2016-21, growth was

significantly lower for small island developing states (8.5%), the least developed countries (5.5%), and landlocked developing countries (3.8%). This trend is concerning, as it

underscores the urgent need for greater support and investment to ensure that developing countries can meet their renewable energy and development goals and contribute to

global efforts to combat climate change.

Renewable capacity additions have been growing at a steady pace over the past two decades and have consistently outpaced population growth. In the first decade of the 21st

century, the CAGR of renewable capacity per capita was 4.6%. This figure was surpassed by an 8.6% CAGR during 2010-15, and more recently, the CAGR increased to 9.6% in the

Central and Southern Asia, per capita capacity doubled during

2010–21, with a CAGR of 7.4% and 7.5% respectively, driven

by solar and wind power. Bhutan, Türkiye, and The United

Arab Emirates led this region. However, countries in Oceania

and Sub-Saharan Africa are lagging, with per capita capacity

growing by 20% and 59%, respectively, over the period.

Tokelau, Niue, and The Cook Islands showed the most growth

in renewables in these regions.

Moreover, the growth rates across country groups reveal

worrying disparities, with Small Island Developing States

Closing the geographic gap in the deployment of renewables-

based capacity will require tailored policies and investment

measures to ensure a just and climate-safe energy transition

in the long term. The ambitious deployment of renewable

capacity across regions is crucial to avoid locking in

unsustainable and polluting energy choices and to prevent the

creation of stranded assets.