The Challenges and Prospects of Achieving Target 7.1 of Sustainable Development Goal 7 in Sub Saharan Africa

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 2015, setting a sustainable development agenda till 2030. The SDGs include 17 goals for the world to achieve by 2030 including economic, social, and environmental goals for all countries. This paper investigates SDG 7, which is to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” (United Nations Statistics Division). There are 5 targets and 6 indicators for SDG 7. The 5 targets are as follows. Target 7.1 is to achieve “universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services,” which has two indicators, 7.1.1 access to electricity, and 7.1.2 access to clean fuels for cooking (SDG Tracker). Target 7.2 is to “increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix,” which has one indicator, 7.2.1 “renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption” (SDG Tracker). Target 7.3 is to “double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency,” whose indicator 7.3.1 is energy efficiency (SDG Tracker). Target 7.A aims to “ promote access, technology and investments in clean energy,” with one indicator, 7.A.1 which is “international financial flows to developing countries in support of clean energy research and development and renewable energy production, including in hybrid systems” (SDG Tracker). Lastly, Target 7.B is to “expand and upgrade energy services for developing countries,” whose indicator 7.B.1 is “investments in energy efficiency as a proportion of GDP and the amount of foreign direct investment in financial transfer” (SDG Tracker). According to the SDG tracker, the world will not be able to achieve SDG 7 by 2030 at the current rate of progress, which will be discussed in greater detail further. 

This research paper addresses the following question, what are the unique challenges in Sub Saharan Africa to achieve target 7.1 of SDG 7 and in what ways can these challenges be overcome? The case of Sub Saharan Africa was selected as it is the region farthest behind in achieving goal 7 by all metrics (SDG Tracker). This paper first presents data on the status of access to electricity and clean cooking technology in Sub Saharan Africa provided by The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), The Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa (SDGCA), and the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063. Then, this paper discusses international and domestic dynamics affecting progress in achieving the target. On an international level, the main paradox is reliance on donor aid for economic development, which correlates with increased access to electricity. On the one hand, states dependent on donations are more likely to meet commitments and reform policies, on the other hand, these states maintain their lack of autonomy and perpetuate a power imbalance. On a domestic level, socio-economic and cultural complexities play into challenges in implementing change in technology. Population growth, rural and urban divides, as well as gender norms and traditional cooking practices, act as barriers to seeking alternative clean energy sources. To overcome these challenges, this paper puts forth several policy recommendations, solutions, and opportunities for growth. The policy recommendations and solutions include increasing technical capacity and infrastructure, developing technical skills and knowledge, boosting local technological innovation and usage of local resources and talent, supply incentives, and demand subsidies. The opportunities for further investment and growth are digitalization of the energy and electricity sector, and strengthening the power pools within Africa and its solar and wind energy prospects. 

IRENA released a report called “Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report (2021)” which analyses the progress in achieving SDG 7 on a global level and specifically focuses on targets 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, and 7.A. The report states that although there was a 90% increase in global access to electricity by 2019, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and population growth, the number of people without access increased in 2020 (IRENA, IEA, UNSD, The World Bank, and WHO 2021). The report predicts that “the access rate will have to more than triple between now and 2030. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, this would mean connecting around 85 million people each year through 2030” (IRENA, IEA, UNSD, The World Bank, and WHO 2021, 1). Although the SDGs as a whole consider variables like population growth, SDG 7 does not advise on how to consider increasing demand for renewable energy and population growth. The decision is left to the individual states or organisations that design and implement policies to achieve all the targets in SDG 7. 

Sub Saharan Africa is currently the farthest behind in the world in achieving SDG 7 by 2030. The key characteristics which underpin Africa’s energy sector are “lack of access to modern energy services, poor infrastructure, low purchasing power, low investments, and overdependence on traditional biomass” (SDGCA 2021, p. 130). The region comprises 75% of the global population without access to electricity (IRENA, IEA, UNSD, The World Bank, and WHO 2021). As of 2019, the majority of Sub Saharan African countries have less than 50% of their population with access to electricity (SDG Tracker). For example, only 19.1% of The Democratic Republic of Congo’s population has access to electricity, 8.4% in Chad, and an even lower 6.72% in South Sudan (SDG Tracker). Nigeria, The Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ethiopia are the top 3 countries with the largest deficits in access to electricity. 90 million people in Nigeria, 70 million in The Democratic Republic of Congo, and 58 million in Ethiopia do not have access to electricity as of 2019 (IRENA, IEA, UNSD, The World Bank, and WHO 2021). Moreover, 15 of the top 20 countries with access deficit are in Sub Saharan Africa (IRENA, IEA, UNSD, The World Bank, and WHO 2021). 

The AU’s Agenda 2063 includes Target 7.1 by stating that its goal is to increase the continent’s access to electricity by 50% from its 2013 levels (SDGCA 2021). However, their first continental report on the AU’s implementation of Agenda 2063 reveals that there was a weak performance of only a 5% increase in access to electricity from 2013 to 2019 (SDGCA 2021). Africa’s annual increase rate of access to electricity between 2010 and 2017 has been 4.1%, and access to clean cooking and technology has been 2.7%. If this growth trend were to continue till 2030, Africa will not achieve Target 7.1, which is universal access to reliable, affordable, and modern energy services including two indicators for access to electricity and access to clean cooking technology (SDGCA 2021). If Africa does want to achieve the target, then there needs to be an annual increase of 7.4% for electricity and 20.3% for clean cooking and technology (SDGCA 2021). 

The SDGCA released a report in July 2021 called “AFRICA 2030: SDGs Within Social Boundaries - Leave No One Behind Outlook Report,” which highlights a direct relationship between access to electricity and access to clean fuels and technology. Those regions in Africa that have higher access to electricity also have higher access to clean fuel and technology. For example, Northern Africa, which includes countries like Egypt that have near-complete access to electricity, also reports a relatively higher proportion of their population with clean fuel and technology (SDGCA 2021). This suggests that achieving one indicator for target 7.1 is likely to increase access for the other indicator. 

In addition, the SDGCA report presents research by Stern et al. (2019) identifying the connection between economic development and electricity. Economic development, according to this report, includes primarily technological developments and infrastructure. Although Stern et al.’s study does not identify a causal relationship between economic development and electricity usage and access, they do however note a positive correlational relationship. Using World Bank Open Data, and macro-analytical data from Stern et al., the SDGCA report presents that for 23 African countries, as the ratio of people in poverty decreases, the percentage of the population with access to electricity increases (SDGCA 2021). The authors of the report explain that “eliminating energy poverty leverages creation on investments and employment with higher productivity, and in turn, reduces poverty” (SDGCA 2021, 119). The connection between economic development and electricity access is, however, another way that progress may be hindered. Arguably, being dependent on economic development to increase access to electricity or any other basic service like water or food, presents a potentially passive approach to sustainable development. Policymakers may remain stagnant or in limbo while they wait for market incentives or donor aid before proposing or implementing policies that directly increase access to electricity, hoping for the correlative progress to unfold on its own. 

Policy and proposals made by African nations have two main limitations, the difference between capacity and expectation, and the lack of continuous stable demand. When seeking financial aid from donors, whether it be multilateral organisations or states, the discrepancy between what the African state wants, and what the state is capable of doing on a skill level and technical level limits prospects for investment (Puig et al. 2021). In addition, when local populations do not create a sustained amount of demand, with fluctuating population growth and conflicting needs, it hinders local electricity providers to build capacity and technology, and analyse the unique needs of the community, further limiting potential investments (Puig et al. 2021). This limitation highlights how remaining dependent on foreign investments can hinder progress in analysis, building mechanisms for monitoring, and locally innovative technology. There is no doubt that foreign aid is necessary for nations with large access deficits like in Sub Saharan Africa, however, the limitation lies in the reliance on aid, rather than taking an active approach to reform policies that would boost national economies and technical capacity. 

Conversely, Gore et al. (2019) argue that states dependent on investment or economic aid are more likely to reform their policies for electricity. They argue that “highly aid-dependent” countries are “more likely to enact donor-initiated electricity sector reforms in order to access funds for necessary infrastructure projects” (Gore et al. 2019, 195). This suggests that states that are less economically developed and are dependent on external funding are more likely to commit to policy reform in increasing access to electricity and clean energy technology. States that are not reliant on external donors and have relative international authority and independence are less inclined to reform their electricity policies because they do not need to meet commitments as much as those reliant on donors. Furthermore, they write that policy and decision-makers for the World Bank, the primary source of investment and funding for African countries, are “convinced that poor electricity supply undermined economic recovery,” and so, they made a “commitment to structural reforms in electricity provision” as a condition for receiving aid (Gore et al. 2019, 203). Other forms of financial donations from other state or non-state actors are dependent on the commitments receiving countries made to the World Bank (Gore et al. 2019). This distinction between aid-reliant versus aid-non reliant states presents an interesting dynamic for the world stage. On the one hand, it shows that development financing does incentivise action towards achieving the SDG. On the other hand, it continues to perpetuate a power imbalance in the global order. Overt pressure from multilateral institutions like the World Bank may incentivise action, but still acts as a barrier for continuous, autonomous, and independent progress in achieving the target.

It is also important to note that there is a critical difference between access to electricity, and access to reliable and affordable electricity. For example in Ghana, environmental problems like droughts, and societal pressures like rapid population growth have resulted in load-shedding and blackouts (Gore et al. 2019). Access does not necessarily equate to quality or durability. Rejection of World Bank standards for funding and lack of commitment to cost-effective policies for electricity can partially be held responsible for this lack of reliability and affordability in electricity, despite an increase in accessibility (Gore et al. 2019). 

Aside from international dynamics as discussed earlier, domestic disparities between urban and rural populations are another factor contributing to the challenges in achieving target 7.1 of SDG 7. Majority of the people without access to electricity or clean cooking fuels and technology are in rural areas. Based on 2017 World Bank Open Data, the SDGCA reports that nearly 80% of Sub Saharan Africa’s urban population achieved access to electricity, but only 22.6% of the rural population achieved access (SDGCA 2021). For clean cooking fuels and technology, the percentage of the population with access in both urban and rural areas was below 15% for the entire Sub Saharan African region (SDGCA 2021). Tucho and Kumsa (2020) iterate that cultural and socio-economic differences underscore challenges to achieving target 7.1. Rural households require more energy in their cooking because they use higher amounts of unprocessed food directly from farms or other natural resources, whereas urban households have some access to electric cooking technology, and processed or semi-processed foods which require less energy to cook (Tucho and Kumsa 2020). Moreover, urban households are likely to cook less frequently than rural households because processed foods have longer shelf lives and increased storage capacity (Tucho and Kumsa 2020). There is an additional issue with the control of common pool resources. As the authors explain, “the availability of biomass energy obtained from common lands (natural forests) available around a certain community depends on the level of exploitation,” and most of these resources like firewood are scarce and overexploited (Tucho and Kumsa 2020, 6). Scarcity and overexploitation are two sides of the same coin here, as a resource like firewood becomes scarce, the amount that is collected is overexploited and overused to the point of harmful emissions affecting the health and wellbeing of the household, while still not meeting the energy demands of the household (Tucho and Kumsa 2020). 

On a cultural level, local food customs and traditions of cooking influence the types of technology or energy people are willing to change. Tucho and Kumsa elaborate that a “household’s decision to continue using firewood for cooking is influenced by local cooking habits and culture, food types, and gender norms (Tucho and Kumsa 2020, 7). Women in rural Sub Saharan African countries spend between 2 to 4 hours a day in search of firewood for their cooking, which only provides about 10% of useful energy for the household (Tucho and Kumsa 2020). This practice is also a source of income for women who engage in traditional trading practices for various daily household needs. These practices, although rooted in tradition, are highly inefficient and wasteful of the resources that are available. Over-reliance on such methods promotes deforestation and strengthens commitments to age-old practices of cooking and energy consumption. However, if the clean technological alternatives that are provided are not considerate of local cooking cultures and are not suitable for the needs of the rural or poorer households, then the population does not have an incentive to choose the cleaner alternative. Urban households that have more access to money and an understanding of technology are typically more receptive to alternative technological solutions (Tucho and Kumsa 2020). This indicates that achieving other SDGs like SDGs 4, 5, 8, 9, and 11 are critical to ensuring long term change. When income increases, access to the electrical grid increases and so does affordability. The youth, with increased education, become more knowledgeable of the positive implications of clean energy solutions, and educated women are less likely to spend their time in subsistence practices (Tucho and Kumsa 2020). The socio-economic and cultural challenges that exist in Sub Saharan Africa reveal that interlinked policies that reflect the localised needs and priorities of a community are pertinent to overcoming these barriers and promoting long term implementation. 

Taking into careful consideration the complex and nuanced challenges to achieving target 7.1 of SDG 7 in Sub Saharan Africa, scholars have proposed policy solutions that are more inclusive of local needs. Mahlatsi (2021) “proposes the sustainable development model, which integrates economic, environmental and social objectives, to fully replace current growth-led models.” (61). In their view, current liberal African policies and global commitments do not take into account the unique poverty cycles and unequal dynamics present in individual local communities (Mahlatsi 2021). As discussed earlier, liberal policies of financing sustainable development both incentivise action but also perpetuates the power imbalance. If the donor actors, like the World Bank and Global North countries, continue to call the shots in policy commitments and implementation, it does not put local needs at the forefront of the discussion, and dilutes specific concerns with global concerns. There needs to be stronger implementation mechanisms, monitoring technology and criteria, and direct strategies that have solid outcomes on local and national levels, before imposing global expectations with vague metrics (Mahlatsi 2021). Jaiyesimi’s (2016) argument complements this assertion as they argue that capacity building and technology improvement are needed in order to have stronger implementation and monitoring mechanisms. Better training and education needs to take place in African countries, specifically, developing the ‘higher’ skills that would help sustain clean energy technologies and increase general community understanding of clean alternatives (Jaiyesimi 2016). 

These suggestions support stances that encourage interlinked approaches to policies governing the SDGs. To add onto this argument, Tucho and Kumsa (2020) encourage bolstering “local technological innovation” which would keep the individual communities engaged with the issues that pertain to them, while simultaneously actively working towards solutions catered towards their needs and developing technological skills (7). They further elaborate that in these efforts to boost local innovation, policies should consider less idealistic resources and technologies unsuitable for their communities, and instead incentivise locals to innovate ideas using resources available to them to create “viable technologies fitting to local demands and contributes to socio-economic development and livelihood improvement” (Tucho and Kumsa 2020, 9). IRENA suggests a broader policy recommendation which incorporates these micro concerns, a national energy plan that meets “household energy needs, including cooking energy and electricity access” (IRENA, IEA, UNSD, The World Bank, and WHO 2021, 7). Although these policy recommendations make space for localised interests, it is important that they include specific metrics of observation as Mahlatsi (2021) urges. For example, instead of having accessibility indicators like in the indicators for target 7.1, reliability and affordability should also be added as metrics for measurement. Another metric that can be added is the productivity of the energy consumed since as discussed earlier, energy use is currently lacking in efficiency as well. These additional metrics would help in defining what are the exact energy needs of the Sub Saharan African countries, and ensure that concrete steps are taken in achieving them. The main limitation to these solutions is that they are targeted more broadly toward the implementation and outcomes of the SDGs as a whole in Africa, which may have a beneficial impact on the energy sector. 

More specific policy recommendations for the energy and electricity sector of Africa include incentives for supply and subsidies for demand. Puig et al. (2021) define supply-side incentives as a combination of “risk-guarantee schemes,” which protect private donors from the potential of failing government commitments and civil unrest, considering the turbulence present in a lot of African countries at the moment, and, “blending instruments'' which are partnerships between private and public actors that can pull in investments (617). They encourage the creation of a “continent-wide risk guarantee scheme” which would be established by multiple African states and international organisations, and be supported by the African Single Electricity Market (Puig et al. 2021, 617). Moreover, they define demand-side subsidies as “direct or indirect payments to secure electricity access to the poorest households in Africa” which in conjunction with supply incentives would reduce the inequity in affordability of electricity and clean energy solutions (Puig et al. 2021, 617).  

In conclusion, this paper has discussed the challenges to achieving target 7.1 of SDG 7 in Sub Saharan Africa by 2030. The main challenges that have been highlighted are population growth, increasing demand, and socio-economic and cultural complexities. This paper has also suggested various pathways for policy changes that can help reform energy policy within Africa. These suggested pathways include increasing technological capacity and skills, stronger monitoring and implementation mechanisms, additional metrics that are more specific to local concerns, supply incentives and demand subsidies. Despite the challenges to accessibility, affordability, and reliability of electricity and clean cooking solutions for the region, there are several opportunities for the African energy and electricity sector which look promising, such as digitalization and power pools. Digitalization refers to the rise of digital technology that makes energy transfer, analysis, mobility, productivity, and reliability stronger (IEA 2017). Digitalization in Africa’s energy and electricity sector can reduce the reliance on investments for building infrastructure due to financial incentives and analytic tools (Puig et al. 2021). It can also reduce the cost of electricity and make it more affordable for households through its distribution in the generation of electricity (Puig et al. 2021). Lastly, digitalization can soothe concerns over the unreliability or unpredictability of clean energy solution supply (Puig et al. 2021). For these benefits and opportunities of digitalization to come to fruition, policies that expand the energy sector and markets, boost local innovation in technology and encourage capacity building are critical (Puig et al. 2021). 

The second opportunity for growth is power pools. Power pooling refers to when one major country within a region is responsible for the production and provision of energy within that region. Power pooling reduces pressure for individual countries to supply all the electricity or energy for their nation, and increases cooperation and coordination on a regional level in electricity and energy provision (Puig et al. 2021). It can increase reliability and affordability. For example, for the Southern African Power Pool, managed by the Southern African Development Community, South Africa is at the helm of providing and producing electricity for that region (Puig et al. 2021). At the moment, this power pool is facing challenges to meet the electricity demands of the region because of increasing population growth as one factor, however, there are opportunities to develop solar and wind energy technologies (Puig et al. 2021). Instead of investing money into hydropower which has been the norm and major source of investment in Africa, and it does show promising outcomes like in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for other countries in Africa, solar and wind energy provide greater prospects for affordability and capacity for electricity generation (Puig et al. 2021; UNDP Africa 2017). 

Disclaimer: This work is original and the property of Aroni Sarkar. It is not authorised for any use, copies or dissemination.

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