Facts and figures on SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy

FACTS AND FIGURES
📚The global electricity access has risen from 87% in 2015 to 91% in 2021, but 675 million people, primarily in LDCs and sub-Saharan Africa, remain without access.
📚In 2021, 71% of the global population had access to clean cooking fuels and technologies, up from 64% in 2015. The
region with the lowest access rates was sub-Saharan Africa, where progress towards clean cooking has failed to keep pace with growing populations, leaving a total of 0.9 billion people without access in 2021.
📚The share of renewable sources in total final energy consumption increased from 16.7% in 2015 to 19.1% in 2020,
with the electricity sector leading the way at 28.2% and driving most of the renewable energy growth, while progress
in the heat and transport sectors has been limited in the past decade.
📚The rate of improvement in primary energy intensity dropped to 0.6% in 2020. This makes it the worst year for energy intensity improvement since the global financial crisis. To make up for lost time, energy intensity improvements will need to average 3.4% per year until 2030.
📚International public financial flows for clean energy in developing countries have declined consistently, even before
COVID-19. In 2021, they reached $10.8 billion, down by nearly 12% from 2020. This represents a 35% drop from the decade-long average of 2010-2019 and less than half of the peak in 2017 at $26.4 billion.
📚In 2021, developing countries achieved a record-breaking installation of 268 Watts per capita of renewable energy-
generating capacity, growing at a rate of 9.8%. Progress has been significantly slower for Small Island Developing States,
Least Developed Countries, and Landlocked Developing Countries


The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023: Special Edition provides a powerful call to action, presenting a candid assessment of the SDGs based on the latest data and estimates. While highlighting the existing gaps and urging the world to redouble its efforts, the report also emphasizes the immense potential for success through strong political will and the utilization of available technologies, resources, and knowledge. Together, the global community can reignite progress towards achieving the SDGs and create a brighter future for all.

According to the report, the impacts of the climate crisis, the war in Ukraine, a weak global economy, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have revealed weaknesses and hindered progress towards the Goals. The report further warns that while lack of progress is universal, it is the world’s poorest and most vulnerable who are experiencing the worst effects of these unprecedented global challenges. It also points out areas that need urgent action to rescue the SDGs and deliver meaningful progress for people and the planet by 2030.

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023: Special Edition is the only UN official report that monitors global progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Using the latest available data and estimates, the report provides a comprehensive midpoint assessment of the 2030 Agenda, highlighting not only impacts of multiple crises affecting people's lives and livelihoods, but also areas of progress where acceleration is needed. This annual SDG Report is prepared by UN DESA, in collaboration with the entire UN Statistical System, consisting of more than 50 international and regional agencies, based on data from over 200 countries and territories.

Alarming trends in land degradation call for urgent action to restore the Earth

Between 2015 and 2019, at least 100 million hectares of healthy and productive land were degraded every year, affecting food and water security globally. The loss is equivalent to twice the size of Greenland, impacting the lives of 1.3 billion people, who are estimated to be directly exposed to land degradation. Human activities like urban expansion, deforestation and grassland conversion, coupled with climate change are direct drivers of land degradation worldwide.
Demographic and economic trends, governance challenges, and technology and investment gaps also contribute indirectly. Sub-Saharan Africa, Western Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Southern Asia experienced land degradation at rates faster than the global average. If current trends continue, restoring 1.5 billion hectares of land
by 2030 will be necessary to achieve a land-degradation-neutral world.

Alternatively, halting any new land degradation and accelerating existing commitments to restore 1 billion hectares can surpass the neutrality target. Land and ecosystem restoration offer cost-effective solutions to address climate change, biodiversity loss, food and water security, and disaster impacts. To this end, governments, businesses and communities
must collaborate to conserve natural areas, scale up nature-positive food production and develop green urban areas, infrastructure and supply chains.