SDG Target #7.b

SDG #7 is to “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.”

Within SDG #7 are 5 targets, of which we here focus on Target 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 landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their respective programmes of support

Target 7.b has one indicator:

• Indicator 7.b.1: Installed renewable energy-generating capacity in developing and developed countries (in watts per capita)

The least developed countries face the prospects of the largest growth in population in the years to come. The existing dearth of energy for these countries takes on a double importance for their eventual access to be renewable. What if it's not, and such energy access comes from fossil fuels? The fight against climate change would be all but lost to accommodate the increase in living standards. This isn’t fair, to deprive such developing countries from access, thus its vital access comes via renewable energy

Th global capacity of renewable energy as of 2021 was 268 watts per capita, an increase from 154 watts per capita in 2015. In the Least Developed Countries in 2021, it was 39 watts per capita, up from 28 watts in 2015. In the Small Island Developing States, renewable energy capacity was 89 watts per capita in 2021, up from 55 watts in 2015.