Washington, New York, Paris, Geneva, Abu Dhabi,
24 June 2026 – At a time when energy security and
affordability have risen to the top of the development
agenda, 655 million people globally still lack access to
electricity, and two billion use polluting fuels and
technologies for cooking putting their health and well-being
at risk. Sub-Saharan Africa bears a disproportionate share
of these gaps, with over 560 million living without
electricity and 970 million lacking access to clean
cooking.
The latest edition of Tracking SDG 7: The
Energy Progress Report, featuring new 2023 and 2024 data,
shows while most regions are nearing universal access,
progress in Sub-Saharan Africa has slowed significantly, and
the pace of electrification must triple to achieve universal
access by 2030. Despite these challenges, the report
highlights encouraging progress in several areas of
sustainable energy. Renewable energy continued its strong
expansion, accounting for over 30 per cent of global
electricity consumption; while renewable energy-generating
capacity reached a global record of 544 watts (enough to
power a refrigerator) per person. International public
financial flows supporting clean energy in developing
countries increased slightly to US$ 24.6 billion; and
improvements in global energy efficiency continued to reach
3.76 megajoules per US dollar, although this remains an
insufficient pace to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)
7 targets.
However, the report warns that without
urgent and scaled-up action, the world will fall short of
achieving SDG 7 to ensure universal access to affordable,
reliable, sustainable, and modern energy by 2030. Moreover,
while the current global energy crisis is still unfolding,
its impact on energy markets and the broader economy are
expected to be significant.
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n this context,
accelerating domestic renewable energy deployment is
increasingly seen as essential both for strengthening energy
security and affordability as well as advancing long-term
climate and development objectives. Distributed renewable
energy solutions, including off-grid solar and mini-grids,
are a cost-effective solution for electricity access,
already serving hundreds of millions of people. Electric
cooking, bioethanol and biogas are also gaining traction as
scalable renewable energy cooking solutions, helping to
further diversify clean cooking
pathways.
Affordability remains a major obstacle to
expanding electricity access. Even where infrastructure is
available, many households cannot afford connection fees,
wiring costs or basic energy services. As countries work to
reach the remaining unelectrified population, target
subsidies, innovative financing mechanisms and least cost
electrification solutions will be essential to ensure that
no one is left behind.
Financing constraints are
hampering progress, with levels either insufficient to meet
the SDG 7 goals or declining altogether in the poorest
countries. International financial flows in support of clean
energy to the least developed countries declined
significantly, registering $3.7 billion in 2024, an 11 per
cent decrease from 2023.
Stronger political
leadership, improved cross-sector coordination, and a
strategic focus on the countries and communities most at
risk of being left behind remain cross-cutting priorities in
the lead up to 2030. Clear policy signals and sustained
implementation are fundamental to diversifying the national
energy mix, increasing renewable energy, reducing dependence
on fossil fuel imports and bolstering macroeconomic
resilience against global supply chain
disruptions.
Key findings across primary
indicators:
Access to
electricity. Despite gains,
progress remains far too slow. In 2024, the global access
rate stagnated at 92 per cent, and annual growth halved
compared to the previous decade. Sub-Saharan Africa and
rural populations are increasingly left behind, with the
rural deficit in Sub-Saharan Africa growing from 376 million
in 2010 to 447 million in 2024. Achieving universal access
by 2030 will now require the pace of progress to triple to
1.3 per cent a year.
Access to clean fuels and
technologies for cooking. This
remains the largest energy gap, affecting approximately two
billion people — roughly one quarter of the world’s
population. Progress is uneven, with a stark urban-rural
divide: 89 per cent of the urban population have access to
clean cooking compared to only 56 per cent of people living
in rural areas. Without stronger action, 1.8 billion people
could still rely on polluting fuels like charcoal, wood,
kerosene, and coal by 2030. Sub-Saharan Africa again
accounts for a disproportionate share, with the number of
people lacking access expected to reach one billion by 2027.
This has severe health consequences, with household air
pollution being responsible for some 3 million deaths per
year.
Renewable energy. Renewables
now supply over 30 per cent of electricity, but their share
in heat and transport remains limited. Despite record
growth, disparities in renewable energy-generating capacity
persist; renewable energy-generating capacity in low-income
countries stood at only 33.6 watts per person, compared to
1,224 watts per person in high-income
countries.
Energy efficiency.
Progress is falling short of the pace required to meet
global targets, with the rate of progress falling from 2.4
per cent in 2022 to 1.5 per cent in 2023. Recent
improvements in energy intensity remain well below the level
needed to align with SDG 7, highlighting a widening gap
between ambition and implementation. Strengthening
efficiency measures across sectors is essential not only for
reducing energy demand but also for lowering costs and
emissions.
International public financial
flows to developing countries in support of clean
energy. The latest data reveals limited growth,
insufficient relative to needs, with flows marginally
increasing from US$ 24.4 billion in 2023 to US$ 24.6 billion
in 2024. Despite the high cost of debt creating economic
strain across developing countries, debt-based financing
continues to be the main form of international public clean
energy finance, accounting for about 80 per cent of total
flows in 2024. Grants accounted for 13 per cent, while
equity financing and risk guarantees remained comparatively
marginal at 2 per cent and 5 per cent,
respectively.
The report will be presented to
decision-makers at a special launch event on 8 July 2026,
following the in-depth review of SDG 7 at the
High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in
New York, which oversees progress on the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
Fatih Birol, Executive
Director, International Energy Agency
“Access to
modern energy starts with two fundamentals: clean cooking
and electricity. Since 2010, 1.5 billion people have gained
access to clean cooking and 800 million have gained access
to electricity, showing that with the right policies,
progress is possible. The IEA is working with governments,
industry and international partners to accelerate the
investment and policy action needed to achieve universal
access worldwide, particularly for clean cooking. While SDG7
is an energy goal, its benefits extend far beyond the energy
sector – improving health, expanding economic opportunity,
strengthening security and building more resilient
communities.”
Francesco La Camera,
Director-General, International Renewable Energy
Agency
“Recent global energy shocks have made
one thing clear: countries with strong renewable energy
capacity are better positioned to withstand economic and
supply disruptions. Accelerating the deployment of
cost-competitive domestic renewables must now be central to
strengthening both energy security and economic resilience,
while pursuing SDG 7. To achieve this, the international
community must prioritise affordable and tailored financial
support, particularly for least developed countries facing
the greatest barriers to access.”
Li
Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social
Affairs, United Nations Department of Economic and Social
Affairs
“We have seen encouraging progress in
expanding access to affordable, reliable and clean energy in
recent years. However, this year’s report shows that
millions of people still lack access, making clear that
progress is not keeping pace with the ambition of
Sustainable Development Goal 7, and that disparities across
countries remain significant. The current global energy
crisis presents an opportunity to accelerate the transition
to clean energy in support of energy security. Seizing this
opportunity will require substantial scaling-up of
international support and investment. We cannot afford
complacency. The time to act with greater urgency and
ambition is now.”
Valerie Levkov, Vice President
for Infrastructure, World Bank Group
“Energy
security and affordability have become global priorities,
and this will remain a defining challenge for years to come.
Electricity demand is growing rapidly, yet millions of
people still live without access to electricity, with
Sub-Saharan Africa bearing the greatest burden and missing
out on opportunities for economic growth, jobs, and
development. We have the solutions to accelerate
progress—proven technologies, effective financing models,
and strong partnerships—but constrained public budgets
mean we must also mobilize much greater private sector
investment. Working together, we can deliver reliable,
affordable energy to the people who need it
most.”
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,
Director-General, World Health
Organization
“Universal access to clean and
sustainable energy is not merely an energy challenge; it is
a fundamental health imperative. Household air pollution
from cooking fuels costs millions of lives, causes long-term
disease and disability, and harms our environment. It
disproportionately burdens displaced populations and women
and girls who spend hours gathering fuels, exacerbating
inequality for the most vulnerable. Amid an unprecedented
crisis in energy security, a transition to clean cooking is
essential to promote health, gender equality, mitigate
climate change and to reduce costs for households and
governments.”
About the report
This report
is published by the SDG 7 custodian agencies, the
International Energy Agency (IEA), the International
Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Statistics Division of
the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
(UN DESA), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization
(WHO), and aims to provide the international community with
a global dashboard to register progress on energy access,
energy efficiency, renewable energy and international
cooperation to advance SDG 7.
This year’s edition
was chaired by UN DESA.
The report can be downloaded
at https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/
Funding
for the report was provided by the World Bank’s Energy
Sector Management Assistance Program
(ESMAP).
