The Energy Progress Report assesses achievements in the global quest for universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy by 2030. The report findings indicate that on a global scale, achievement of the 2030 target will not be achieved partly due to disruptions by the COVID-19 pandemic and inadequate investment in energy and the attendant policy and regulatory reforms.

Access to electricity improved from 83% in 2010 to 91% in 2020, which has led to the population accessing electricity to 1.3 billion people. Between 2010 and 2020, almost all regions of the world experienced improvements in electrification albeit with wide disparities.  However, Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for the highest number – 568 million people or more than three-quarters of the global population without access to electricity. The report highlights that the top 20 countries with electricity access deficits account for 76% of the global population without access to electricity of which Uganda is part, having an estimated 26 million lacking access to electricity in 2020. However, the report further states that Kenya and Uganda made the fastest progress on electrification at an annual rate of 3 percent between 2010 and 2020.

On clean cooking, the share of the global population with access to clean cooking fuels and technologies rose to 69% in 2020 increasing by 3% from 2019. However, in Sub-Saharan Africa, population growth has outpaced the rate of access to clean cooking, leading to stagnation. In Uganda, only 1% (of about 44 million people) of the population has access to cleaning cooking technologies despite the efforts made to promote the use of alternative modern cooking technologies. To bolster access to electricity, clean cooking, and renewable energy, Governments need to triple efforts to be able to achieve the SDG indicators by 2030.

For further insights into the report, visit TrackingSDG7TheEnergyProgressReport2022.pdf (windows.net).