Sustainable Development Goal: Access to affordable and clean energy.

One of the UN's goals, seventh out of 17 on the 2030 list, is clean and affordable energy for most people — a goal that, unfortunately, will not be achievable at the current rate. In order to achieve the climate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it will have to accelerate, for example, energy efficiency. Today, hundreds of millions of people around the world still do not have access to electricity alone and also use so-called kitchen energy, which poses a threat to the lives of 2.4 billion people (we are talking about the use of polluting fuels and primitive cooking technologies such as wood, charcoal, animal droppings or kerosene, which cause severe indoor air pollution and lead to serious systemic diseases respiratory disease, especially in women and children). Of course, as with most UN targets, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly delayed progress; impacted by elevated raw material, energy, and transportation prices have increased the cost of manufacturing and transporting photovoltaic modules, wind turbines, and biofuels around the world.

To get a better look at what areas have been implemented in terms of this climate goal and what is the current state of affairs, it is worth drawing on studies and statistics.

Advances in Electrification: Slowing Down and Harder to Reach Some Communities

According to the latest report Tracking SDG 7 (2025), nearly 92% of the world's population today has access to basic electricity. Although this is a small improvement over 2022, more than 666 million people are still living without electricity (mainly in the poorest regions of Africa and Asia). The pace of growth is too slow to meet the goal of universal access by 2030. The development of clean cooking is also hampered by the effects of the pandemic, energy crises and fiscal tensions in developing countries. Access to electricity is certainly the most difficult among populations that have lower incomes and face the challenges of regional destabilization, conflict, violence and remote areas. It is much easier to reach people who are already to some extent on the electrification ladder. Although progress toward improving access to electricity has rebounded since the collapse of 2022, in 2023, the number of new connections outpaced population growth, increasing global access to 92 percent and reducing the number of people without electricity to 666 million — 19 million fewer than the previous year. While this marks a return to a positive trend, the growth rate remains well below what is needed to achieve universal access by 2030. Underdeveloped countries and regional challenges

Which countries are in the most deficit? Most of them belong to sub-Saharan Africa and there are 18 out of 20 of them from the group with the largest energy deficit. These include Nigeria (86.6 million), the Democratic Republic of Congo (79.6 million) and Ethiopia (56.4 million) - these accounted for more than a third of the world's population without electricity (they ranked in the same places the previous year).

However, the intercontinental divide is not one; we can also see the energy imbalance at the regional level, that is, between urban and rural areas. Rural areas, where 84 per cent of the world's population do not have access to electricity, are a major challenge in terms of ensuring access to electricity. Although rural electrification has progressed faster than urban electrification, the main driver of this growth has been Central and South Asia (where the number of people in rural areas without access to electricity fell from 383 million in 2010 to just 25 million in 2023). Demographics are also of particular importance — the situation is different in sub-Saharan Africa, where rapid rural population growth is outpacing the rate of electrification; as a result, as many as 451 million rural residents still live without electricity.

Achieving the global goal means significant renewable energy activities and huge financial resources

According to the report, the key to electrifying remote and sparsely populated areas, where the expansion of the traditional grid is difficult and expensive, is Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE), that is, solutions such as off-grid solar systems. Thanks to technological advances and new business models, DRE enables the creation of affordable solutions involving the private sector and development organizations. In 2023, such systems provided access to energy for approximately 561 million people worldwide and accounted for more than half of new connections in sub-Saharan Africa between 2020 and 2022. Moreover, DRE has demonstrated high resilience to economic crises, which is also important in unstable areas exposed to crisis and war or those where the state and its institutions show weakness.

Solar energy currently appears to be the most profitable source, especially in the context of climate change and the pursuit of sustainability. Although global warming does not always go hand in hand with more sunshine, as it is increasingly accompanied by unstable weather, conditions still favor the use of solar energy in many parts of Africa and Asia. In these regions, photovoltaic technology can play a key role in expanding access to electricity. It is also worth remembering that the energy needs of the inhabitants of these areas are different from what we observe in Europe - due to fewer electrical appliances, lower levels of consumption and different lifestyles. This makes decentralized systems based on renewable sources, especially off-grid, not only sufficient, but also economically and environmentally sound. According to the forecasts for 2030, The most economical solution for 41% of people without access to electricity will be solar energy in off-grid systems. Particularly promising is an approach that combines household electrification with technologies that support local business development — for example solar water pumps or cold storage, enabling micro and small businesses to use energy to generate income. Between 2022 and 2023, $1.2 billion was invested in the sector, mainly in the form of debt financing (ESMAP 2024 data), but the scale of investments must be significantly scaled up to meet SDG 7 — universal access to energy by 2030.

Efficiency is a large scale of activities and its systematicity

Although the report optimistically assumes that renewable energy will be the future of a sustainable world, even if some calculation can confirm that it is worth confronting them with the real risks that already exist today, which are affecting the slowdown of sustainable development processes. The aforementioned areas of Africa and Asia are politically threatened regions characterized by economic instability, which is not an incentive for private investors. The solution to this problem could be state aid, however, and these institutions often do not have good infrastructure and their budget is not enough. The price of electricity from a solar source may seem cheap... By American or European standards, however, in poorer areas it can still be a considerable expense. Another risk is the dependence of these areas on suppliers from more developed countries or those that have a monopoly. In order for this energy to actually serve the population of a given area, it would have to develop there and not be dependent on external suppliers. These potential problems say a lot about the economy in general, which under capitalistic-feudal conditions often does not seek a solution to problems but rather sells its service or product under the slogan of sustainable development (what we call greenwashing).

Gender and access to energy

Who really suffers the most from the lack of access to electricity? Women, even in the poorest areas, are more affected by this injustice. Gender equality in access to electricity remains a major challenge. According to World Bank data, female-led households in Africa and South Asia are less likely to use off-grid energy solutions than in other regions, with limited affordability remaining a major obstacle. Women are still underrepresented in the energy sector as a whole. There are several reasons for this: in less developed areas, women continue to perform household duties more often than men, which often limits the possibility of development in other areas. Access to energy also means access to information, education, the ability to control your health and seek help. Providing them with better access to energy could also increase their income and thus strengthen their economic independence. It is also an opportunity to communicate and network with other women from other countries.

Example of Poland: offshore as a step towards energy transformation

Poland, despite the fact that it still largely relies on coal, has recently taken important steps towards energy transformation, which can significantly affect the Polish economy (repolonization). One of the key directions is the development of offshore wind energy; the planned wind farms in the Baltic are expected to deliver up to 11 GW of capacity by 2040, which could significantly increase the share of clean energy in the country's diverse group of energy sources. This is not only a step towards SDG 7, but also an opportunity to create new jobs, develop technology and become independent of fossil fuels. However, the success of these projects depends on several factors; legislative stability, infrastructure investment and efficient cooperation between the public and private sectors.

summary

Key steps include the development of decentralised renewable energy (especially solar), investment in local off-grid solutions, greater involvement of public and private institutions, and gender and local considerations in energy policy. However, without taking into account the strength of the market and the monopoly of suppliers from more developed countries, the idea itself may not be enough. Achieving SDG 7 requires not only technology, but also a fair approach, stable funding and the strengthening of local institutions. Without systemic support, hundreds of millions of people, especially women and rural dwellers, will be left out of reach of clean energy.

Sources:

1. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2022/goal-07/
2. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/2025-tracking-sdg7-report?
3. https://offshorewindpoland.pl/category/i-faza-mew/baltic-power/