A special International Energy Agency (IEA) report, released in October 2011,indicates the scale of the challenge. IEA estimates that:
• More than 1.3 billion people lack access to electricity, and at least 2.7 billion people are without clean cooking facilities. More than 95 per cent of these people are either in sub-Saharan Africa or Asia.
• Investment of $48 billion per year will be needed to provide universal energy access by 2030. This is more than five times the amount invested in 2009 to expand energy access ($9.1 billion) but represents only 3 per cent of total
global energy investment. Only $4 to $5 billion per year of that total is needed for clean cooking facilities.
Scientists warn that if the world continues on the current path, global temperatures could rise by more than four degrees Celsius by the end of this century. That will affect everything from the world economy to the health of our citizens and the health of the ecosystems that sustain life on Earth, from energy, food and water security to international security. We know now that we cannot continue to burn our way to prosperity.
To defeat poverty and save the planet, we can, and must, achieve sustainable energy for all by the year 2030.
The Sustainable Energy for All initiative seeks to identify and mobilize action by all stakeholders in support of energy access, energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewable energy. To organize these efforts, I have formed a new High level Group on Sustainable Energy for All, led by Kandeh Yumkella, Chair of UN-Energy and Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development
Organization, and by Charles Holliday, Chair of Bank of America and former chief executive officer of DuPont.
Relevant websites