IEA: What Are The Issues Behind Global Energy Accessibility?

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has announced the release of their recent newsletter ‘The crucial issue of access to energy worldwide’.

The IEA recognises that whilst energy is taken for granted in developed countries, there are others who struggle for accessibility. 

The recent data from the IEA relates to the United Nations' (UN) sustainable development goal of having accessible electricity globally by 2030.

The background information from IEA

After recent data has emerged, it's a global concern that hundreds of millions of people around the world don't have access to most essential electricity services.

Although the numbers are still high, they have dropped, due to Asia, Africa and South America connecting to the grid in the last century.

The global Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the progress of electrical accessibility becoming stalled.

In 2022 as the world population increased, so did the amount of people without electricity, causing the numbers of people without electrical access to decrease for the first time in decades.

The data from the IEA states that although the number without electricity began to decline again in 2023, it was at a much slower rate when compared to the data before the pandemic. 

Dr Faith Birol, Executive Director of the IEA, emphasises the need for faster progress by stating: “The current rate of progress in energy efficiency is disappointingly slow, given the critical role it can play in improving energy security, reducing energy costs and lowering emissions”

Accessibility in Asia and Africa

In the past decade, more than half a billion people have gained access to electricity in the past decade – related to the developing economy.

Data from 2019 shows that 157 million people across Asia lacked electrical access, emphasising why Asia is experiencing the fastest electricity demand growth than any other region.

Both India and Indonesia reached global access between 2021 and 2022, with Bangladesh doing the same in 2023.

Although Asia is on the path of complete accessibility, sadly, Africa is trailing behind.

Africa is the most energy-deficient continent in the world with 600 million people lacking access to electricity in 2022, despite major progress before the pandemic.

The figure is mostly due to the large population of sub-Saharan Africa, this where 98% of those without access to electricity live.

There are also huge inequalities in the access to electricity between African countries – Egypt has 100% electricity coverage, while South Sudan only has 6.7%.

Sustainable energy development

Africa has the potential for renewable energy with 60% of the world's best solar resources so it's a shame to see that only 20% of Africa's electricity was generated from renewable sources in 2018.

However, after three years of regression, 2023 saw the acceleration of new electricity connections in sub-Saharan Africa.

One important contributor was the surge in home solar-based systems, which accounted for more than a third of the region’s new connections in 2023. 

The pace of new grid connections is Africa rebounded, approaching the levels seen before the pandemic. 

Although it seems Africa has more potential, Asia is leading the race with renewables in its electricity mix reaching 27% in 2023.

Part of Asia’s lead in sustainable energy could be due to the solar capacity in Vietnam skyrocketing by about 18,380% from 2018 to 2022.

Globally, policies on access to electricity are improving, as are measures to expand access to clean cooking solutions, which more than 2 billion people currently lack around the world. 

According to IEA analysis, policies have recently improved in countries that represent more than 30% of the population without electricity or clean cooking access.

Although accessible energy is slowly getting back on track, a food for thought is what would the data look like if the pandemic hadn't happened?

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