$40bn required annually to end global energy poverty, says Damilola Ogunbiyi, UN Sec Gen Special Rep

Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Sustainable Energy for All, Damilola Ogunbiyi, has said that the world needs an annual investment of $40billion from now till 2030 to end to global energy poverty which has kept millions of people around in abject poverty.

Ogunbiyi who was the Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency before her current job at the United Nations said that all countries have to come together to address the problem and find solution, adding that energy poverty is prevalent in developing countries of Africa and Asia.

“In terms of investment in energy systems in developing countries, we need about $40 billion a year from now to 2030, yet Africa barely gets $4 billion and Asia about $10 billion. That shows the scale of the problem. Energy poverty is not having enough energy to make a difference in your life. Or not having energy at all. Almost 800 million people globally have no electricity, and about 2.6 billion, a third of the world’s population, have no access to clean cooking fuels. In COVID-19 times, such people cannot just stay home. They have no means of survival without enough energy to live comfortably in their households and thrive in their businesses,” Ogunbiyi who spoke on climate change in an interview published on un.org website said.

The UN Special Representative noted the imperative of getting people out of energy poverty in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. 

“We have to get everyone out of energy poverty, in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 on access to affordable, clean, sustainable energy. But COVID-19 has moved 150 million people back into extreme poverty, where they are more likely not to have energy. Or maybe they had a minimal amount and now have none at all. In Africa, only 24-25 percent of primary health-care facilities have electricity, a major problem for vaccine distribution.

“In September, the General Assembly will hold a High-level Dialogue on Energy for the first time in 40 years. It is intended to explain just how important energy is to climate and sustainable development. We are looking for innovations and ideas because we are not on track in getting people out of energy poverty.