REPORTS

Status and progress towards achieving SDG 7 in Africa

• While countries in North Africa have attained nearly universal access to electricity and clean cooking, and a few countries in the rest of Africa are making good progress towards achieving universal access by 2030, most of the continent is unlikely to achieve SDG 7 with existing policies and commitments. Due to future projected population growth (from 1.3 billion people in 2017 to 1.7 billion in 2030), roughly the same number of people are likely to be without access to electricity in 2030 as in 2016 (590 million). For those who have access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa today, the average per capita consumption remains the lowest in the world. The number of people without access to clean cooking has continued to increase, reaching 846 million in 2015. Biomass continues to play an important role in the energy transformation agenda in Africa. Based on current policies and commitments, the number of people without access to clean cooking will reach 900 million by 2030.
• Renewable electricity capacity exceeded 38 GW in 2016 (about 23 per cent of the total), driven mainly by developments in wind, solar PV, geothermal and large hydropower. 
• Energy intensity remains high (6.0 MJ/USD in 2014), largely as a result of overreliance on inefficient biomass and weak energy efficiency policies and programmes.
• To ensure the attainment of SDG 7 in Africa by 2030, investments of approximately US$ 34.2 billion per year are needed (US$ 32.5 billion per year for electricity access and US$ 1.7 billion a year for clean cooking)