Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report, 2024

Since its inception in 2018, Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report has become the global reference for information on progress toward the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The report is produced annually by the five custodian agencies responsible for tracking progress toward the goal. The custodian agencies are the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The aim of SDG 7 is to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.” This report thus summarizes global progress on energy access, energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean cooking, and international cooperation to advance SDG 7. It presents updated statistics for each of the indicators and provides policy insights on priority areas and actions needed to spur further progress on SDG 7.

Despite some progress across the indicators, the current pace is not adequate to achieve any of the 2030 targets for SDG 7. As in previous years, rates of progress vary significantly across regions, with some regions making substantial gains and some slowing their progress or even moving backward. Among the major economic factors impeding the realization of the goal are the uncertain macroeconomic outlook, high levels of inflation, debt distress in a growing number of countries, inequitable distribution of finance and other resources, supply chain bottlenecks, and soaring prices for materials. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the steady rise in energy prices since summer 2021 have been a further drag on progress, particularly in the most vulnerable countries and those that were already lagging behind.