At least 655 million people worldwide remained without access to electricity in 2024, and about 2.0 billion were using polluting fuels and technologies for cooking, according to UN data.
According to a joint report published today by UN-Energy, the World Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), global access to electricity stagnated at 92% in 2024.
Moreover, the pace of annual growth slowed to half compared with the previous decade, a situation that shows the world is not progressing at the rate needed to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of universal energy access by 2030, according to the same document.
Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for the majority of the shortfall: more than 560 million people lack electricity and about 970 million lack access to clean cooking systems.
The authors of the report also warn that it will be necessary to “triple the pace of electrification” to reach the universal-access target by 2030.
Facing these numbers, they estimate that, if current trends continue, about 1.8 billion people will remain dependent on polluting fuels, such as coal, firewood, kerosene or charcoal, by the end of this decade.
Still, the report highlights advances in renewable energy, which already account for more than 30% of global electricity production, while renewable capacity reached a global record of 544 watts per person.
However, it notes that there are large inequalities: low-income countries have only 33.6 watts of renewable energy per inhabitant, compared with 1,224 watts in the most developed economies.
The report also warns that improvements in energy efficiency remain “insufficient” and that progress in energy intensity fell from 2.4% in 2022 to 1.5% in 2023, far from the level needed to meet the targets.
Financing constitutes another major obstacle, the report notes.
International public flows aimed at clean energy in developing countries grew only to $24.6 billion, about €21.7 billion, in 2024, while aid directed to the least developed countries fell 11%, to $3.7 billion, about €3.3 billion.
The bodies called for “greater political leadership, more investment and targeted support to the most vulnerable communities” to make energy “affordable and sustainable,” which is “fundamental for economic development, public health and global energy security.”
