This report clearly demonstrates that the financial commitments to achieve universal access to electricity and clean cooking are still falling far short of where it is needed in terms of both the level of committed funding as well as the most appropriate energy sectors and country recipients. There must be a sharp increase in energy access investments in the 20 high-impact countries that account for nearly 80% of people across the world living without access to energy.

While at first glance some of the numbers may seem promising, committed finance stands at only half of the USD 52 billion that is needed annually to achieve universal electricity access. When we look at clean cooking, the picture is even more bleak. Already abysmal levels of clean cooking funding have declined, and now account for less than one percent of the projected funding needed to end the several millions of deaths caused annually from traditional biomass cooking.