SDG 7.3 – Energy efficiency
Africa lags behind the rest of the world in terms of both its level of energy intensity and the rate at which it is changing. Massive improvement in the financing of energy efficiency, combined with capacity-building and support with establishing adequate policies (for example, the adoption of Minimum Energy Performance Standards for appliances), is now urgently needed.
SDG7 targets the doubling of the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030 (Target 7.3), as measured by energy intensity in terms of primary energy use and GDP (Indicator 7.3.1). Whilst the global annual improvement rate target between 2010 and 2021 was 2.6% (which has not been reached – it was only 1.6%), Africa’s average annual improvement rate was only 0.63%. In addition, after a period of irregular improvements between 2014 and 2018, the trend reversed between 2018 and 2020. The post-pandemic economic recovery will probably have further negatively impacted energy efficiency values in 2021 and 2022, too.
Despite the importance of energy efficiency in reducing energy demand, thereby generating monetary savings for households and industries whilst also reducing carbon emissions, finance to this sector has been extremely low (EUR 0.76 billion), with, however, an increasing trend. Over the study period from 2014 to 2022, total finance for energy efficiency amounted to EUR 0.76 billion. The amount of finance has, however, been increasing over this period, from EUR 7.60 million in 2014, to EUR 209.89 million in 2020, and EUR 111.58 million in 2022.
The global renewables and efficiency pledge announced at COP 28, aims at doubling the annual rate of energy efficiency improvements, and will hopefully create additional momentum around energy efficiency.