Amplified Efforts in Renewable Energy are Needed

In 2015, World Leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  The 17 SDGs call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while maintaining peace, protecting the planet, the people and building partnerships. With only ten years remaining to achieve these goals, countries are accelerating steps towards ending poverty, fighting inequalities, tackling climate change, and ensuring that no one is left behind.  The focus is placed this month on SDG 7- ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

BY NATHALIE NDONGO-SEH

Next month, at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), a High-Level Dialogue on Energy will be convened to promote the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, and its related goals and targets. SDG 7 seeks to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.”

The one-day dialogue will be hosted 40 years after the last United Nations conference on sustainable energy, held in 1981, and is expected to build the greatest coalition of countries, businesses and civil society, to raise ambition and accelerate action on sustainable energy through the development of powerful, concrete, new plans.

The world is not on track to meet its climate and sustainable energy goals, according to the UN Tracking SDG 7: Energy Progress Report (https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org).   Even though 9 out of 10 people now have access to electricity, 789 million around the world, of whom 548 million live in sub-Saharan Africa alone, still lack access to electricity. Universal access to electricity, which is at the heart of development, will therefore require increased and ambitious action by global leaders.

Limited access to electricity implicates the rural poor, in particular. Without access to electricity, local clinics are unable to function and provide adequate healthcare; small businesses cannot operate in a competitive manner; and women and girls, without access to running water, often spend hours fetching water, implicating their safety and a mother’s ability to take care of her children. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), women in sub-Saharan Africa spend an average of 200 million hours per day collecting water.

Biomass fuels such as animal waste, charcoal and wood are often used as alternative means to cook. These fuels are extremely toxic when burned, resulting in four million deaths across the world each year, of which more than 50 percent of these deaths occur amongst children under the age of five. Progress towards clean cooking solutions is of grave global concern, affecting both human health and the environment. It is anticipated that if countries do not meet this goal by 2030, nearly a third of the world’s population – mostly women and children – will continue to be exposed to harmful household air pollution.

The lack of access to energy may also hamper efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 across many parts of the world. Energy services are key to preventing disease and fighting pandemics – from powering healthcare facilities and supplying clean water for essential hygiene, to enabling the circulation of life-saving information through digital communications channels, whilst ensuring that loved ones remain connected at a time when social distancing is essential.

It is estimated that only 28 percent of health facilities have access to reliable electricity in sub-Saharan Africa: a worrisome and devastating statistic. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need for health facilities to have access to electricity and thus, without a renewed global commitment to ensure access to energy for all, we run the risk of magnifying the human catastrophe and significantly slowing down the global recovery from the pandemic.

The High-level Dialogue on Energy will therefore be a key milestone in the Decade of Action towards Agenda 2030. It is expected mobilize political capital and inspire greater, long-lasting action for sustainable energy, placing SDG7 at the forefront of the global policy agenda, ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) – a critical milestone to put the world on track to meet the Paris Agreement targets.

Energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today.: from job creation to economic development, from security concerns to the full empowerment of women, from poverty eradication to food security, health, education, sustainable cities, transport, and adaptation to climate change: energy lies at the heart of the SDGs.

A renewed and ambitious focus on universal access to energy, increased energy efficiency and use of renewable energy is therefore crucial to creating more sustainable and inclusive communities and building a greater resilience to environmental issues such as climate change.

While evidence shows that renewable energy systems are spreading across the world, they are not spreading fast enough to meet the SDGs. For instance, progress has been made on the use of renewable electricity including water, solar and wind power, as is the ratio of energy used per unit of GDP declining. However, greater access to clean fuel and technology is required, and more progress is needed towards integrating renewable energy into end-use applications in buildings, transport and industry.

In April 2021, the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Gutérres, urged countries to put an end to the use of coal in energy production. While noting that there is no reason for any new coal plants to be built anywhere, the UN chief called upon developed economies to commit to phase out coal by 2030, and all other countries by 2040. 

The UN Secretary-General stated:

“As the world moves toward clean air and renewable energy, it is essential that we ensure a just transition. Phasing out coal from the electricity sector is the single most important step to get in line with the 1.5-degree goal.  Immediate action to remove the dirtiest, most polluting fossil fuel from power sectors offers our world a fighting chance.”

According to UN reports, the outlook for renewables is below par. Despite revolutionary advances in renewable energy technologies, finance for off-grid energy solutions amounts to only 1.3 percent of all funds flowing to electrification.

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.

In its Energy Masterplan 2034, the Kingdom of Eswatini identified renewable energy as the driving force behind the country’s energy transformation, highlighting sustainable energy as a priority area for development in the  Kingdom. In 2018, Eswatini, with support from the UN, developed the Programme Framework for Affordable Renewable Energy (PARES). The framework promotes off-grid solutions, prioritises investment in supplying decentralised renewable energy to the rural poor whilst securing biomass power resources.

The key challenge facing the country’s energy system is a lack of security of energy supply: Eswatini imports around 70 percent of its power, despite being well-endowed with conventional and renewable energy resources, including coal, solar, hydro, wind and biomass residues from the sugar and forestry industries. These resources could meet the entire national demand for electricity if fully exploited, whilst the excess energy could provide exporting opportunities to Eswatini’s neighbours. The overall goal for the Eswatini energy system is therefore to reduce dependency on electricity imports.

Eswatini has set ambitious targets to increase electricity access for households from 80 percent to 85 percent by 2022, through the rural electrification programme. The United Nations continues to stand in solidarity with the people of Eswatini in support of Government participation in the Global Environment Facility Clean Rural Electrification for African Countries (GEF CREAC) programme. This programme seeks to develop a distinctive approach and accelerate the deployment of rural electrification utilizing renewable mini-grids.

As reflected in the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2021-2025, the United Nations in Eswatini remains committed  to contributing to a “prosperous, just and resilient Eswatini where no one is left behind,” through the prioritisation of the People, Prosperity and the Planet.