Policy briefs in support of the UN High-Level political forum 2023: Advancing SDG7 in Africa

Abstract

The constraints on African economies and communities brought on by the continent’s persistent energy access deficit have recently been made worse by the global energy crisis. This, in turn, has been brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the growing impact of climate change. If Africa is to achieve the development goals outlined in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the larger African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, the continent needs a radical shift in how it views energy. It also needs urgent action to address its long-standing energy access issues. Such action must include increased financial support from donor countries and multilateral institutions. Many African countries are not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) target of ensuring everyone can access affordable, dependable, sustainable and modern energy. Access to reasonably priced and reliable modern energy services is also a crucial prerequisite for progress in many other development goals. The continent has an abundance of energy resources, both renewable and fossil, yet public resources are highly constrained. At the same time, there are low levels of private sector investment in Africa’s energy transformation and limited support for recovery from financial hardship. According to “Africa Energy Outlook 2022”, produced by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the continent has made progress towards universal energy access in recent years. Electricity coverage increased from 44–56 per cent of the continent’s population between 2010 and 2023.