SDG7 Policy Briefs Urge Governments to Prioritize
Energy Access, Scale Up Investment, Pursue Synergies
Based on the latest data and policy recommendations, UN and international experts are calling on governments and stakeholders to urgently prioritize action for universal access to electricity and clean cooking solutions, and energy transition, in a drive to achieve SDG7 by 2030. The SDG7 Policy Briefs in Support of the HLPF 2025 (prepared by the ) are being presented together with the (prepared by IEA, IRENA, UN Statistics Division, the World Bank and WHO) to governments at a launch event on 16 July, during the annual High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, at the UN in New York.
The SDG7 Policy Briefs this year highlight how pursuing synergistic policies can achieve multiple goals. In line with the 2025 HLPF focus, this year＊s SDG7 Policy Briefs highlight energy＊s vital interlinkages with health (SDG3), gender equality (SDG5), decent work and economic growth (SDG8), and the urgent needs of least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), and small island developing States (SIDS).
The SDG7 Policy Briefs are based on the latest data from the Tracking SDG7 report which show that, in 2023, 666 million people still lacked electricity, with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 85 per cent of the total, and 2.1 billion people worldwide still relied on polluting cooking fuels, the reports show that we are still far behind in meeting the SDG7 targets, despite record growth in renewables in recent years. We need to rapidly accelerate a just energy transition that will triple global renewable energy capacity and double the rate of improvement of energy efficiency by 2030, as well as dramatically scale up finance and investments, especially in support of the most vulnerable countries.
Tracking SDG7 Report Finds Energy Access
Has Improved, But Financial Support Still Needed
to Boost Progress and Address Disparities
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