Global access to energy starts to fall for the first time in a decade, says IEA

Population growth means that for the first time in a decade access to global energy has begun to fall despite the massive investment going into clean energy to fight the climate crisis, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a new report.

The number of people living without electricity increased in 2022 for the first time in over a decade, with 685mn people now lacking access, 10mn more than in 2021.

 “To achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7, we will need much more investment in emerging and developing economies to expand access to electricity and to clean cooking technologies and fuels,” Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency said. “Today, only a fraction of total energy investment is going to the countries where the problems of electricity access and clean cooking are critical, not least in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

The report was prepared by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), and the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO).

“It finds that the world remains off course to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 for energy by 2030. SDG 7 is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy,” the IEA said in a press release.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the hardest-hit region, with 570mn people—more than 80% of the global population without access—living without electricity, marking a rise compared to 2010 levels.

The world continues to fall short of achieving universal access to clean cooking by 2030. Currently, up to 2.1bn people still rely on polluting fuels and technologies for cooking, predominantly in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The traditional use of biomass means households spend up to 40 hours a week gathering firewood and cooking, which hinders women's ability to pursue employment or participate in local decision-making, and prevents children from attending school.

Household air pollution from using polluting cooking fuels and technologies results in 3.2mn premature deaths annually.

Renewable electricity consumption grew by more than 6% y/y in 2021, increasing the share of renewables in global electricity consumption to 28.2%. Installed renewable energy-generating capacity per capita reached a new record of 424 watts globally in 2022. However, significant disparities remain, with developed countries having 1,073 watts per capita—3.7 times more than developing countries, which stand at 293 watts per capita.

The rate of energy intensity improvement showed a slight increase of 0.8% in 2021, compared to 0.6% the previous year. Despite this, progress remains below the long-term average. The slow progress occurred during a robust economic recovery post-COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the largest annual rise in energy consumption in 50 years. To meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7.3 target, average annual improvements through 2030 must now accelerate to over 3.8%.

International public financial flows supporting clean energy in developing countries rebounded to $15.4bn in 2022, a 25% increase over 2021. However, this figure remains around half of the 2016 peak of $28.5bn.

By 2030, under current policies, an estimated 660mn people will still lack electricity access and around 1.8bn will be without access to clean cooking technologies and fuels. Progress in energy efficiency rates also lags, reaching just 2.3%, far below the level needed to achieve the SDG 7 target.