Delivering sustainable energy for all

The developing world needs sustainable energy to support its growth and to move people out of poverty. Worldwide, 1.3 billion people still have no access to electricity, and up to a billion more have to cope with unreliable access at best. In particular, rural Sub-Saharan Africa has an electrification rate of only 12% and the total number of people without access to electricity continues to rise steadily. The UN, under its Sustainable Energy for All initiative, is seeking to ensure universal access to modern energy services by 2030. In this chapter, the author describes how the European Union, which provides more than half of all global official development assistance (ODA), is contributing to the UN initiative, placing the emphasis on access to modern energy services; regional integration, focusing on projects with a regional reach; and broad-based renewable power generation. Nonetheless, he notes that official development assistance will not be able to meet the challenge alone. The private sector will need to engage much more actively, both through investment and through financing. The rewards will be substantial: new markets, new productive partnerships, new innovative technologies for developing countries, and more income and jobs.