World not on track to achieve SDG 7 for energy: Report

The report will be presented to top decision-makers at a special launch event on July 11 at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, ahead of the second SDG Summit in September in New York.

What is SDG?

Raipur, June 14 (IANS) After living in the dark for the last 75 years, finally electricity has reached the Parcheli village in Chhattisgarh.

The village falls under the Maoistaffected district of Dantewada.

The irony of the locals living in this village was that they were forced to live in darkness for years because of its remote geographical location and also being a highly security sensitive area.

The condition of the Parcheli village has now been transformed with the houses of 4,000 families getting electricity.

The locals said they used to shut themselves in their homes after completing all their work till the sun was up, and had to use lanterns for moving in the night. Some of the electricity woes were resolved by the arrangement of solar energy lighting under the alternative arrangement by Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency. But now the whole area has got relief due to 100 per cent electrification of the village.

It may be noted that 100 per cent electrification of the villages of the district has been done by the District Electricity Distribution Company, Maryadit under the guidance of Collector Vineet Nandanwar.

For the locals of Parcheli village, who seemed to be living in the old era of lanterns and diyas, the total electrification has brought a new way of living. The locals are hoping that electricity will bring development now.

Wind power once again Germany’s most important electricity source

New Delhi, June 6 (IANS)

A report compiled by the International Energy Agency (IEA), International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), World Bank, and World Health Organization (WHO) on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) was released on Tuesday.

As per the report, the world is not on track to achieve the SDG 7 targets for energy by 2030.

The report titled 'The 2023 edition of Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report' warns that current efforts are not enough to achieve the SDG 7 on time.

"There has been some progress on specific elements of the SDG 7 agenda for example, the increased rate of using renewables in the power sector but progress is insufficient to reach the targets set forth in the SDGs," the report read.

The global energy crisis is expected to stimulate the deployment of renewables and improve energy efficiency with several government policies pointing to increasing investment. However, IRENA estimates show that international public financial flows in support of clean energy in low and middle-income countries have been decreasing since before the Covid-19 pandemic and funding is limited to a small number of countries.

"To meet SDG 7 targets and to ensure that people fully benefit from the socio-economic gains of the shift to sustainable energy, it is necessary to structurally reform international public finance and defines new opportunities to unlock investments," read the report.

The report also found that mounting debt and rising energy prices are worsening the outlook for reaching universal access to clean cooking and electricity. The authors urged the international community and policymakers to safeguard the gains made toward achieving SDG 7, to advance structural reforms, and to maintain a strategic focus on the vulnerable countries needing the most support.

This year marks the halfway point for achieving SDGs by 2030. SDG 7 is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy. The goal includes reaching universal access to electricity and clean cooking, doubling historic levels of efficiency improvements, and substantially increasing the share of renewables in the global energy mix.

Attaining this goal will have a deep impact on people's health and well-being, helping to protect them from environmental and social risks such as air pollution, and expanding access to primary healthcare and services.

Current projections estimate that 1.9 billion people will be without clean cooking and 660 million without electricity access in 2030 if we do not take further action and continue with current efforts. These gaps will negatively impact the health of the most vulnerable populations and accelerate climate change.

According to WHO, 3.2 million people die each year from illness caused by the use of polluting fuels and technologies, which increase exposure to toxic levels of household air pollution.

Berlin, June 8 (IANS) Wind energy has once again replaced coal as Germany's most important source of electricity, according to preliminary figures published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).

Despite a slight decrease in electricity generation compared to the same quarter of last year, wind power reached a share of 32.2 per cent in Europe's largest economy in the first quarter of 2023, Xinhua news agency quoted Destatis as saying.

"The clearly defined expansion targets, the clear priority of renewables will accelerate the trend already visible in the last four years," Wolfram Axthelm, managing director of the German Wind Energy Association (BWE), told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Germany aims to reach a renewable share of 80 per cent in the electricity supply by 2030, five years ahead of the European Union (EU) target.

The government has repeatedly emphasized that onshore wind energy is to play a key role in achieving this goal.

Robert Habeck, minister for economic affairs and climate action, presented a broad-based strategy for onshore wind energy in late May to put the transition on track.

"We need more than a fourfold increase in the current rate of expansion," he said.

Conventional energy sources, such as coal, natural gas and nuclear energy, still accounted for more than half of Germany's electricity production in the first three months of the year, according to Destatis.