Sustainable Energy For All… How realistic?

Photo Credit: mckaysavage via Compfight cc

Sustainable Energy For All is a United Nations initiative with the goal to bring sustainable energy for all by 2030. Now what is the reality of this goal? Will we see the changes this initiative plans to make by their goal of 2030? If we are going as we are now we will not make it. Looking at the information from the United Nations initiative, 1.2 billion people still are without accessible electricity and 2.8 billion people are still using wood for cooking and heating causing 3.5 million deaths a year from respiratory illness related to the fumes from wood and biomass. To put this into perspective, that is more than twice as high as deaths due to malaria, which is 1.2 million, and HIV/AIDS deaths, which is 1.5 million. Obviously this is still a major problem.

There have been improvements over time in fighting energy poverty, from 1990 to 2010 1.7 billion people acquired access to electricity yet if we continue as we are we will not see the United Nations initiative goal of total accessibility met by 2030 a reality.

The goal to provide sustainable energy for all is ambitious and they plan to mobilize members of the High-Level Group, commitments from governments, private sectors and civil society partners to take action, making sustainable energy for all a possibility by 2030. BUT is this enough? Although action is being taken and more information and awareness is happening…will we see the goal met by 2030? 

For more information on Sustainable Energy For All click here.