The United Nations SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

The United Nations put together a list of seventeen goals in 2015, related to global development – to be achieved by 2030, these work as a blueprint to work towards a better, sustainable future for all - and are collectively known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The seventh SDG, Affordable and Clean Energy, aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. The statistics showing the progress do not look promising - for instance, one-third of the world’s population is using cooking systems that are inefficient as well as dangerous. There are also 759 million individuals who lack access to electricity. To ensure affordable clean energy, the production of batteries (for electric vehicles etc) and the installation of renewable energy, the sources across the globe need to be widened drastically. It is a long road ahead and to understand what lies ahead, let us take a closer look at the sub-goals under this SDG. 

1. Universal access to modern energy

2. Increase the global percentage of renewable energy

3. Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency

4. Promote access to research, technology, and investments in clean energy

5. Expand and upgrade energy services for developing countries

These sub-goals are multifaceted and provide an overview of the various areas that need to be worked upon and reveal the fact that we need to rapidly develop technology and solutions to switch to renewable energy and commercialise the same. Also, there is a need for all to work together to provide a helping hand to people/countries who might require assistance in terms of funding, raw materials, manpower, or others.

Apart from these, the fulfilment of this SDG goal would be necessary for the fulfilment of the other SDG goals of the UN viz. work for all and economic growth, responsible consumption and production, climate action, etc as it would help in creating a better platform to focus on the other goals.

Based on these, individuals, organisations and governments across the globe need to base their strategies on these goals and sub-goals to bring in a focussed approach to the eradication of social evils in the specific communities.

In this series of articles, we will discuss each of the SDGs in detail to understand the role of countries and stakeholders to fulfil these sustainable development goals.