Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2026

The Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2026 executive summary indicates that all Sustainable Development Goal 7 targets are off track for 2030. While global electricity access has reached nearly 92%, progress is decelerating, and the remaining deficit is heavily concentrated in Africa. Clean cooking access remains a critical gap with 2 billion people lacking access, and global energy efficiency and renewable energy shares are not improving fast enough to meet 2030 targets.

• Global electricity access has improved, but the pace of progress is slowing. As of 2024, 655 million people lack electricity, and 2024 was one of the weakest years for progress since 2010. The deficit is now primarily concentrated in Africa, which holds approximately 89% of the world's unelectrified population. In Sub-Saharan Africa, there is a stark divide between urban electrification (83%) and rural electrification (33%). Current trends suggest 644 million people will still lack access by 2030.
• Approximately 2 billion people lack access to clean cooking fuels and technologies. Progress is highly uneven: Asia has reduced its deficit by about 57% since 2010, largely driven by India and China, while Africa's deficit has risen by approximately 26% since 2010. Africa has now overtaken Asia as the region with the largest clean cooking deficit. Projections indicate 1.6 to 1.7 billion people will still lack clean cooking access in 2030.
• The transition to renewable energy is too slow to meet 2030 goals. In 2023, renewables accounted for 18.0% of total final energy consumption, with modern renewables at 13.4%. Africa is the only region where the overall renewable share has declined since 2010. Furthermore, international public financial flows for clean energy in developing countries reached USD 24.6 billion in 2024, which is only 78% of the 2016 peak.
• Global energy efficiency improvements are decelerating. The annual rate of energy intensity improvement fell from 2.4% (2021-2022) to 1.5% (2022-2023). To achieve the SDG 7.3 target by 2030, annual improvements must now reach approximately 4%. Global investment in end-use energy efficiency was USD 429 billion in 2025, which is about 75% of the USD 566 billion per year required under the IEA Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario.

APA

Sustainable Energy for All (2026). Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2026. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2026-07/SEforALL%20Tracking%20SDG7%20-%20The%20Energy%20Progress%20Report%202026_Executive%20Version_22Jul2026-2.pdf

Chicago

Sustainable Energy for All. Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2026. 2026. https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2026-07/SEforALL%20Tracking%20SDG7%20-%20The%20Energy%20Progress%20Report%202026_Executive%20Version_22Jul2026-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Sustainable Energy for All |title=Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2026 |date=July 2026 |url=https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2026-07/SEforALL%20Tracking%20SDG7%20-%20The%20Energy%20Progress%20Report%202026_Executive%20Version_22Jul2026-2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sustainableenergyforall2026tracking, author = {{Sustainable Energy for All}}, title = {{Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2026}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, year = {2026}, month = jul, url = {https://www.seforall.org/system/files/2026-07/SEforALL%20Tracking%20SDG7%20-%20The%20Energy%20Progress%20Report%202026_Executive%20Version_22Jul2026-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }