Search Climate Insights Directory

The Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2026 by Sustainable Energy for All indicates that the world is off track to meet all Sustainable Development Goal 7 targets by 2030. While global electricity access has improved, progress is decelerating and heavily concentrated in Asia, leaving Africa with the vast majority of the unelectrified population. Clean cooking access is failing to keep pace with population growth in Africa, and global renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements are too slow to meet the required trajectories.

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.

The research paper describes the 'Large Infrastructure and Leapfrogging' scenario for Africa, an optimistic development pathway benchmarked against South Asia and South America. The scenario models the impact of strategic investments in renewable energy and digital infrastructure to accelerate human development and economic productivity by 2050.

This research paper by the Institute for Security Studies examines the energy access gap in Africa and the potential for 'leapfrogging' traditional fossil-fuel grids in favor of decentralized renewable energy systems, specifically solar-based mini-grids and off-grid solutions.

This report by Ember and the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) argues that falling costs for 'electrotech'—solar, batteries, and electric end-use technologies—provide a faster and cheaper path to energy access and economic development for emerging markets than traditional fossil-fuel-based models. It highlights how many CVF nations are already leapfrogging developed economies in solar penetration and electrification, reducing their dependence on expensive fossil fuel imports.

This white paper by the ARE Financier Circle examines how Results-Based Financing (RBF) for mini-grids in sub-Saharan Africa can be optimized to better mobilize private commercial capital. It argues that current RBF designs often prioritize short-term connection numbers over long-term business viability, creating 'cliff-edge risks' and administrative barriers that deter investors. The paper proposes a four-pillar approach focusing on aligning impact metrics with commercial sustainability, adjusting disbursement schedules to support capital raises, introducing lifecycle risk mitigation instruments, and fostering ecosystem-wide collaboration.

This research paper introduces the 'Combined scenario' for Africa, a vision aligned with the African Union's Agenda 2063. It outlines the continent's need to navigate simultaneous demographic, digital, urban, and green transitions while balancing energy access expansion with low-carbon requirements and managing fiscal constraints caused by debt and geopolitical fragmentation.

This case study examines Renewvia's transition from traditional mini-grids to Okra's mesh-grid technology in Nigeria. After facing reliability issues and high costs with mini-grids, Renewvia deployed a 75-connection mesh-grid pilot in Emakalakala in 2024, which resulted in significantly lower capex, higher uptime, and improved revenue performance, leading to a strategic shift to deploy over 21,000 mesh-grid connections.

A case study detailing a project by Village Energy to install solar-hybrid energy systems in 26 Ugandan health centres between January and September 2025 to ensure reliable power for medical oxygen and lighting.

The ARE Energy Access Investment Forum (EAIF) 2026, held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 21 to 24 April 2026, served as a platform for advancing renewable electrification. The event brought together 1,400 participants, including 215 investors, to discuss funding landscapes, green mini-grids, grid modernisation, and productive uses of energy. Key outcomes included the launch of a USD 25 million project preparation facility by COMESA and the rebranding of ARE to the Alliance for Renewable Electrification.

The Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for branding and marketing services for the Energy Access Investment Forum (EAIF) 2026, to be held in Nairobi, Kenya.

This document is a Request for Proposals (RFP) issued by the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) to procure live streaming services for the Energy Access Investment Forum (EAIF) 2026, scheduled for April 21-23, 2026, in Nairobi, Kenya.

This fact sheet from RMI explains the function and application of renewably powered minigrids (and microgrids), detailing three primary configurations—isolated, undergrid, and interconnected—and providing global examples of their use in enhancing energy resilience and access in the Caribbean, Africa, and the United States.

The 'Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2025' by Sustainable Energy for All provides a comprehensive analysis of global progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). The report finds that the world is off-track to achieve universal electricity access, clean cooking, and energy efficiency targets by 2030, with significant regional disparities, particularly in Africa and Asia.

This policy brief from the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) examines the intersection of energy poverty and green industrialization in Africa. It argues that while the continent faces severe electricity deficits and fossil fuel dependence, its abundant renewable resources provide a strategic opportunity to leapfrog to cleaner energy systems to drive job creation and productivity, provided that institutional, regulatory, and financing barriers are addressed.

The report describes Colombia's 'Energy Communities' program, launched in 2023 under the National Development Plan 2022-2026, which empowers off-grid rural, Indigenous, and Afro-Colombian communities to manage their own renewable energy production and distribution to reduce energy poverty and foster local economic growth.

ENGIE Energy Access has published a white paper titled "Maximising Impact: Transforming Grant Funding for Energy Access," which advocates for a fundamental shift in the structure and delivery of grant funding to address the energy access gap in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This case study describes the implementation of decentralized solar micro-grids by GHE in Ladakh and northeast India to provide clean energy to remote communities where national grid extension is unfeasible.

This position paper by the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) and Schneider Electric advocates for gender equality in the renewable energy (RE) sector to accelerate universal energy access by 2030. It argues that women are essential agents of change who reinvest a higher portion of their income into community services than men. The document provides specific recommendations for RE companies, funding partners, and investors to implement gender-sensitive approaches, alongside case studies from India and the Sahel region demonstrating the socio-economic impact of empowering women entrepreneurs and leaders in the energy transition.

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute analyzes renewable-energy and clean-cooking interventions, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, to identify drivers of success and barriers to socioeconomic development. It proposes a theory of change for energy interventions and provides five strategic recommendations for donors and development partners to improve the impact of clean-energy investments.