Sustainable Energy: the most evident results of the SDG's.

(This article was originally published by the Sustainability Magazine of the UK start-up Wild Aura in June 2021)

Last week we talked about the 17 objectives corresponding to the "Sustainable Development Agenda" set by the UN in 2015, in order to guarantee a better quality of life on a global scale by 2030, which are developed in various social spheres such as infrastructure, economy and ecology.

And although in reality, after 5 years of being set, several of these objectives have not even begun to see progress, there are 4 of them in particular that have not only managed to make visible the problems that concern them, but have also generated great progress in the fulfillment of their goals within the agenda; SDG 3, 5, 7 and 17.

Being the third of these, the one we will mature today, and the ecological SDG with more progress so far.

Consult The Ecological SDG'S: how much have we advanced? to see the analysis of the Obj.6

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

This category aims to "ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all". Energy is a central element of both the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. 

To ensure access to affordable, reliable and modern energy for all is expected to open a new world of opportunity for billions of people through new economic opportunities and jobs, empowered women, children and youth, better education and health, more sustainable, equitable and inclusive communities, and greater protections against and resilience to climate change, according to UN declarations and targets indicators.

For which political measures have been taken, [The "High Level Dialogue on Energy: Online Briefing of Interested Parties" last December, with the aim of generating a recount of the background notes towards the implementation of clean technologies, of easy access for the marginalized population, and/or association with custodial agencies in a Steering Group, International Energy Agency (IEA), International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), World Bank (WB) and World Organization Health (WHO)]. 

And also, in terms of action, which are divided into four main categories, access to electricity, access to Clean Fuels and Technologies for Cooking, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

However, before assuming the prominence of these, to understand the operations that they entail, we must understand the imperative need that leads them to exist.

The presence of energy (mostly electric) is evident in our lives, as something so daily that its consumption does not surprise anyone, since it is manifest in almost all our activities, ex; when using a computer, television, stove, water pump that feeds our bathroom, etc. And it is that, in general, technological progress and the infrastructure of today's societies, need it to be able to keep up with the constant evolution and development.

Thus, we can realize the problem that it represents that certain populations of marginal countries do not have access to it. Only in 2010, 1.2 billion people lived without access to electricity and 3 billion people without access to clean cooking, and although the figure has now dropped to 789 million and 2.8 billion respectively (2017), these numbers are still truly alarming referring mostly to guarantee the highest quality of life for as many people as possible...

But now what does this have to do with sustainability?

Two main factors: the future projection and the environmental impact of energy consumption.

We understand that part of an agenda that cares about the environmental footprint of civilizations, must consider not only their growth, but also the assimilation and distribution of their resources, and more importantly their generation, in order to calculate the necessary efforts based on the future planning. All this, in order to reorient politics and events towards the realization of the necessary changes in favor of the development and conservation of natural resources.

Unfortunately, at the present day, energy production generates year after year losses in marine biodiversity, terrestrial fauna, soil erosion and large CO2 emissions, among others, since its generation is based on the management of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal, which, added to their lack of future projection, causes their use to have a fairly negative impact on the environment.

Energy is the largest contributor to climate change, accounting for around 60% of all global greenhouse gas emissions.

Indoor air pollution due to the use of fuels for domestic energy caused 4.3 million deaths in 2012, of which 6 out of 10 were women and girls.

So ... does that mean energy is bad?

NO! Not at all.

As with many other ecological difficulties, the problem is not the product or service offered, but the way it is generated and managed.

In the case of energies, they are produced from non-renewable resources, that is, from a finite capacity and without retribution to the environment; hence the so-called “renewable energies” emerge, in an attempt to change the narratives of excessive use based on the reuse of the means of production.

The currently known lower impact renewable energies are solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, tidal and osmotic.

But now, based on this panorama, how have the SDGs progressed?

In addition to the distribution targets, it is expected that by 2030 greater international cooperation will be achieved to facilitate access to research and technology related to clean energy, including renewable sources, energy efficiency and advanced technologies less polluting than fossil fuels, and to promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean technologies for the provision of services in a sustainable agenda.

As mentioned above, this is one of those projects whose fruits are beginning to be seen in an extremely positive way, since it is the SGD with the greatest progress in meeting its goals according to the annual report delivered by the United Nations in June 07, 2020.

The global electrification rate increased from 83% in 2010 to 90% in 2018; access to fuels and clean technologies for cooking increased to 63% in 2018, from 60% in 2015 and 56% in 2010; and the share of final energy consumption corresponding to renewable energies increased gradually, from 16.3% in 2010 to 17% in 2015 and to 17.3% in 2017.

And if such a considerable increase could be achieved in the last decade, where the development of these renewable technologies was in its primary phase, then we can predict that perhaps the desired impact will be generated for the 2030 agenda, and later for a 2050 agenda. (Date generally known as the zero-carbon projection).

Then, if all goes well ... what can be done?

In general, there is a factor that we have not considered yet, the cost. The world must triple its annual investment in sustainable energy infrastructure from $ 400 billion today to $ 1.25 trillion by 2030.

At last…

What can I do as an individual?

In any social problem, there will always be alternatives so that the union of efforts of individuals can generate change. On this occasion, there are two routes: the institutional and the private.

The first referring to the ample space for donations to agencies such as the “International Renewable Energy Agency” (IRENA), or the UN itself, as well as internal and external volunteers from your region in which you can participate to contribute to development.

And the second, in the sense of an individual being whose lifestyle does not allow him to take such actions, but can make small changes in a daily routine and/or way of life, which would bring benefits not only to the environment but to your health and economy, such as installing or accessing renewable energy sources present in your community and range, plugging devices, including the computer, into a regulator, and turning them off completely when not in use, using the bicycle, public transport or walking to reduce carbon emissions, etc.

If we all live on the same planet, it is the need and obligation of all of us to take care of it.