Energy and the Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction

'Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development' was adopted at the UN Summit for Sustainable Development on 25 September 2015. The agenda includes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030.

The SDGs build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets that the world committed to achieving by 2015.

In the Preamble of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development it is stated:

"This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. We recognise that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development."

Key Facts

• Valid from 1.1.2016-31.12.2030
• 17 Sustainable Development Goals with 169 targets and 230 indicators
• Universal goals and targets, which involve the entire world, developed and developing countries alike. They are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development (social, environment, economic). => each country needs to integrate the SDGs into its policies and formulate implementation strategies.
  

• The UN has conducted the largest consultation programme in its history to obtain opinion on what the SDGs should include.

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17 Goals for a Better Future

Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries

Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

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Indicator Development and Global Reporting Mechanism

Indicator Tiers

Based on their level of methodological development and overall data availability, the indicators are grouped into three different tiers:

• A first tier for which an established methodology exists and data are regularly produced by countries (tier I);
• A second tier for which a methodology has been established but data are not regularly produced by countries / easily available (tier II);
• A third tier for which an internationally agreed methodology has not yet been developed (tier III)

By end of July 2016 it is planned to have the initial tier system finalized.

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Reporting

Data collection and reporting will be carried out as follows:

• Countries will provide their national data and metadata to international agencies, coordinated by the national statistical office, and facilitated as appropriate, by regional mechanisms;
• International agencies will provide global and regional aggregates and accompanying metadata to UNSD for use in the annual progress report and inclusion in the SDG indicator database;
  
• International agencies will provide country level data and accompanying metadata to UNSD for inclusion in a SDG indicator database, which will be used during the preparation of the annual SDG progress report and to monitor indicator 17.18.1 (Proportion of sustainable development indicators produced at the national level with full disaggregation when relevant to the target, in accordance with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics?).
  

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Goal 7 on Energy in Detail

With Goal 7, energy is finally being recognized as a key enabler for development. Universal access to energy, a higher share of renewable energy and massive improvements in energy efficiency are now part of the top global priorities for sustainable development in the years to come.

Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

• 7.1 By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services
  • Indicator 7.1.1 Percentage of the population with access to electricity
  • Indicator 7.1.2 Proportion of population with primary reliance on clean fuels and technology (“Clean” is defined by the emission rate targets and specific fuel recommendations included in the normative guidance WHO guidelines for indoor air quality: household fuel combustion).

• 7.2 By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
  • Indicator 7.2.1: Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption

• 7.3 By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency
  • Indicator 7.3.1: Energy intensity measured in terms of primary energy and GDP

• 7.a By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology
  • Indicator 7.a.1: Mobilized amount of United States dollars per year starting in 2020 accountable towards the $100 billion commitment (no information on definition, rationale, data collection, etc. available as of 30 March 2016).

• 7.b By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States, and land-locked developing countries, in accordance with their respective programmes of support.
  • Indicator 7.b.1: Investments in energy efficiency as a percentage of GDP and the amount of foreign direct investment in financial transfer for infrastructure and technology to sustainable development services (no information on definition, rationale, data collection, etc. available as of 30 March 2016).
    

The SE4ALL Global Tracking Framework provides more details on the suggested methodology for tracking access to energy and data already collected.

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Energy and other SDGs

Energy access, renewable energy, energy efficiency and other energy-related issues are also contributing to the achievement of almost all SDGs.

Explicit Mentions

Besides SDG 7 there are two other SDGs, in which energy-related issues are mentioned explicitly in targets or indicators (Goal 4 and Goal 12). This means governments will have to report on them.

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Goal 4

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

• Target 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all
  
  • Indicator 4.a.1: Proportion of schools with access to: (a) electricity; (b) the Internet for pedagogical purposes; (c) computers for pedagogical purposes; (d) adapted infrastructure and materials for students with disabilities; (e) basic drinking water; (f) single-sex basic sanitation facilities; and (g) basic handwashing facilities (as per the WASH indicator definitions)
    

See below for further targets and indicators of Goal 4 and the implicit contribution of energy to achieving them

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Goal 12

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

• 12.c Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities.
  • Indicator 12.c.1 Amount of fossil-fuel subsidies per unit of GDP (production and consumption) and as a proportion of total national expenditure on fossil fuels.

See below for further targets and indicators of Goal 12 and the implicit contribution of energy to achieving them

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Implicit Contribution and Impact of Energy on other SDGs

Although not explicitly mentioned in targets or indicators of many development goals, energy services and technologies contribute to their achievement by facilitating and enabling relevant development processes.

The following is a list with first explanations and possible impacts. Please feel free to elaborate on further points.

Goal 1

End poverty in all its forms everywhere

Targets	Indicators	Relevance of energy
1.1 By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day	1.1.1 Proportion of the population below the international poverty line, disaggregated by sex, age group, employment status and geographical location. (urban/rural)	Production and commercialisation of efficient stoves as well as the rise of the renewable sector (e.g. sale, installation and services of solar panels, pico PV lamps etc) create jobs and small business, leading to income generation for both women and men. Furthermore, families save money and time due to reduced fuel demand for cooking and lighting. Access to energy services is a pre-requisite for economic development and makes entrepreneurial activities beyond daylight hours possible.
1.2 By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions	1.2.1 Proportion of the population living below the national poverty line, disaggregated by sex an age group 1.2.2 Proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions
1.4 By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance	1.4.1* Proportion of the population living in households with access to basic services

(*Indicator 1.4.1 still under development, no meta data available (March 2016)

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Goal 2

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture

Although there is no mention of energy in targets or in indicators, energy plays a vital role to ending hunger, improving nutrition and increasing agricultural productivity in a sustainable way.

Targets	Indicators	Relevance of energy
2.1: By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round	2.1.1 Prevalence of undernourishment 2.1.2 Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)	95% of staple food needs to be cooked before they can be eaten. Not only in humanitarian settings like refugee camps the supply with sufficient cooking fuels is of high relevance to enable people to prepare their meals but  improved access to efficient technologies and fuels also makes the preparation of more nutritious food that needs to be cooked for a long time (e.g. beans) more likely.
2.3 By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and income of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment	2.3.1 Volume of production per labour unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size 2.3.2*Total Factor Productivity	To increasing agricultural productivity, energy is needed for irrigation as well as for cooling, drying, milling, pasteurizing, and further processing activities.
2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality	2.4.2 Percentage of agricultural households using irrigation systems compared to all agricultural households	Almost all irrigation systems need energy to pump water.

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Goal 3

Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Impacts of renewable / clean / efficient energy:

When it comes to a functioning health system, energy is a key component: vaccines and medicines need to be refrigerated, equipment needs sterilisation and light is needed for operations and emergencies at night.

Clean / improved technologies and fuels for cooking, heating and lighting emit less particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO), thus reducing the risk of respiratory diseases and eye infections, especially in women and in children under five years. Furthermore, by replacing traditional cooking and lighting technologies (e.g. open fires and kerosene lamps) with improved cookstoves which shield the fire and solar lanterns, the risk of burns, injuries and fires is reduced.

Targets	Indicators	Relevance of clean energy
3.2 By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age (...)	3.2.1 Under - 5 mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 live births)	Over half of deaths among children less than 5 years old, from acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) are due to particulate matter released from indoor air pollution from household solid fuels
3.4 By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being	3.4.1: Mortality of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory disease	According to WHO, 3.8 million premature deaths annually from noncommunicable diseases including stroke, ischaemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer, are attributed to exposure to household air pollution.
3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination	3.9.1: Mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution	According to WHO smoke from traditional cooking technologies causes 4.3 million premature deaths per year.

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Goal 4

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Energy services reduce the working time and provide some free time to especially women and children, and also enable the use of modern communication and learning tools.

See also explicit mention of energy in Goal 4 above

Targets	Indicators	Relevance of energy
4.1 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes	4.1.1 Percentage of children/young people: (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics.	efficient cooking energy: children spend less time on collecting firewood thus have more time to go to school. Women and girls spend less time on cooking due to more efficient cookstoves Use of less fuelwood reduces the cost for school feeding programmes, thus more children attending school get a warm meal lighting: permits home study even in the evenings makes evening classes possible
4.3 By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university	4.3.1 Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the last 12 months
4.6 By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy	4.6.1 Percentage of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills.
4.4 By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship	4.4.1 Percentage of youth/adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills by type of skill	The use of educational media and communications in schools, including computers, Internet or movies is not possible without energy

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Goal 5

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Targets	Indicators	Relevance of energy
5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate	5.4.1 Percentage of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age group and location	Energy services reduce the time spent by women and girls on basic survival activities (gathering firewood, fetching water, cooking, etc.)
5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women	5.b.1 Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex	Information and communication technologies, including mobile phones, need energy to operate

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Goal 6

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Targets	Indicators	Relevance of energy
6.1 By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all	6.1.1 Percentage of population using safely managed drinking water services	663 million people do not have access to clean drinking water. Water purification and desalination using solar or wind energy could help to address this issue
6.6 By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes	6.6.1 Percentage of change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time	Energy-saving cookstoves and more efficient technologies for charcoal production reduce the pressure on forests and other woody ecosystems by reducing the demand for firewood and charcoal. Erosion can be diminished.

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Goal 8 

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Targets	Indicators	Relevance of energy
8.3 Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services	8.3.1 Share of informal employment in non-agriculture employment, by sex	The production and commercialisation of improved stoves as well as the production / selling / installation of PV products and related services creates jobs and small businesses for men and women. Furthermore, energy access and energy efficiency enable enhanced productivity and inclusive economic growth. Renewable energy employed 8.1 million people around the world in 2015 (excluding large hydropower).
8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value	8.5.2 Unemployment rate, by sex, age group and persons with disabilities

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Goal 9

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Targets	Indicators	Relevance of energy
9.4 By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater  adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities	9.4.1 CO2 emission per unit of value added	Modern and efficient energy technologies emit less CO2
9.c Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020	9.c.1 Percentage of population covered by a mobile network, by technology	Information and communication technologies, including Internet and mobile phones, need energy to work

Goal 11

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Targets	Indicators	Relevance of energy
11.1 By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums	11.1.1 Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing	Access to energy is a basic service to meet basic needs such as safe and healthy cooking and indoor and outdoor lighting in the evening. Clean cooking and lighting addresses household and ambient air pollution.

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Goal 12

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
See also explicit mention above

Targets	Indicators	Relevance of energy
12.2 By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources	12.2.1* Material footprint and material footprint per capita	Efficient cookstoves and sustainable forestry practices including efficient charcoal production contribute to the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
12.3 By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses	12.3.1 Global food loss index	Energy is crucial to reduce food losses along food supply and value chains via cold storage, drying etc.

• Indicator still being reviewed
  

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Goal 13

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Fossil fuel use is the primary source of carbon dioxide (CO₂), which accounts for two third of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Renewable energy and energy efficiency are key to combat climate change.

Targets	Indicators	Relevance of energy
13.2 Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning		Up to 25% of black carbon emissions come from burning solid fuels for household energy needs

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Goal 15

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Targets	Indicators	Relevance of energy
15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements	15.1.1 Forest area as a percentage of total land area	Efficient technologies such as improved stoves for cooking and heating reduce pressure on forests and thus help combat deforestation and desertification. Less land degradation as efficient technologies reduce burning of dung, which can be used as fertilizer instead as for cooking. Sustainable forest management practices, afforestation and reforestation are already part in many projects that promote sustainable access to cooking energy.
15.2 By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally	15.2.1 Forest cover under sustainable forest management 15.2.2 Net permanent forest loss
15.3 By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, inclu ding land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world	15.3.1 Percentage of land that is degraded over total land area

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Goal 17

Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

Targets	Indicators	Relevance of energy
17.6 Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge-sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism	17.6.2: Fixed Internet broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed	Any device that connects to the Internet needs electricity, as well as Internet providers, servers, etc.
17.8 Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology	17.8.1 Proportion of individuals using the Internet

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Further Information

• Overview on all 17 goals: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300 
• Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld
• Report of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators gives an overview of the
  indicator framework development process and lists the proposed indicators. E/CN.3/2016/2
• UNDP: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview/post-2015-development-agenda.html 
• Global SDG Indicators Database provides access to data compiled through the UN System
• Compilation of Meta Data for the Proposed Global Indicators, Inter-agency Expert Group on SDG Indicators, March 2016
• MDGs - goals, targets, indicators: http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/goals/gti.htm
• Sustainable development goals: all you need to know. the Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jan/19/sustainable-development-goals-united-nations
• Renewable Energy Technologies on energypedia.info: Renewable energy technologies have to be used to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7. In the following portals on energypedia.info practical descriptions of these technologies and their application in the context of developing countries are provided:

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References

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