As the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) with headquarters in Vienna, Austria, has developed ‘The Recover Better with Sustainable Energy Guide for African Countries’ to support African countries, as they develop post COVID-19 recovery plan and stimulus packages. The guide is part of a series, which includes guides for countries in the Caribbean region and Southeast Asia region released last week.
The new guide by Sustainable Energy for All showed how clean energy investment can support countries to ‘Recover Better’, and use this unique moment to reset their economies and close energy access gaps.
This is particularly key for Africa after COVID-19 has highlighted the deep regional divide on energy access progress. Africa is a region full of promise and a growing economic powerhouse, yet this progress is stifled without access to sufficient, reliable and affordable energy.
The latest data on Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) – access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030 – shows that progress in Africa is still off track to meet global targets. Statistics indicate that 565 million people still lack access to electricity, and a further 900 million lack clean cooking solutions, with the pandemic undermining progress made so far.
By acting on the enabling measures put forward in The Recover Better with Sustainable Energy Guide, countries across Africa will benefit from increased GDP, affordable energy provision, and improved agriculture, gender and health outcomes.
This re-set can also spark progress at the speed and scale needed to meet SDG7 and help put the global economy on a trajectory in line with the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.
“COVID-19 has changed the world as we know it. As countries rebuild economies from the impact of the pandemic, they are faced with a unique, once-in-a-generation opportunity to ‘Recover Better’ with sustainable energy,” said CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy, Damilola Ogunbiyi.
