Still in the Dark: IRENA Urges Bigger Decentralised RE Push For 666 Mn People By Saur News Bureau/ Updated On Wed, Jul 2nd, 2025 Highlights : While almost 92% of the world’s population now has basic access to electricity, the first improvement since 2022, it also indicates that universal access by 2030 may not be possible at present rates. DRE, Mini-Grids Can Aid In The Growth Of E-Cooking In India: CSE. Photo by-Pexels The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has called for scaled-up, targeted financial support for decentralised renewable energy to help bring electricity to 666 million people in rural and vulnerable areas of developing countries. In its latest annual report tracking progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 7, IRENA highlighted the role of distributed renewable energy — including mini-grid and off-grid solar systems — in accelerating access, particularly in remote, low-income, and fragile regions that remain unconnected. Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report 2025 finds that almost 92% of the world’s population now has basic access to electricity, although this is an improvement since 2022. The report hints that this indicates a drop in the number of people without basic access for the first time in a decade. The study also showed that over 666 million people remain without access, indicating that the current rate is insufficient to reach universal access by 2030. This means that clean cooking access is progressing but below the rates of progress seen in the 2010s, as efforts remain hobbled by setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic, following energy price shocks, and debt crises. The report said, “An estimated 1.5 billion people residing in rural areas still lack access to clean cooking. The use of off-grid clean technologies, such as household biogas plants and mini-grids that facilitate electric cooking, can provide solutions that reduce health impacts caused by household air pollution. Over 2 billion people remain dependent on polluting and hazardous fuels such as firewood and charcoal for their cooking needs.” International Financial flows to Support clean energy in developing countries grew to reach USD 21.6 Bn in 2023 IREDA report in its findings showed, “The international financial flows to developing countries in support of clean energy grew for the third year in a row to reach USD 21.6 billion in 2023. Installed renewables capacity per capita continued to increase year-on-year to reach a new high of 341 watts per capita in developing countries, up from 155 watts in 2015.” Yet regional disparities persist, for instance, in Sub-Saharan Africa, while renewables deployment has rapidly expanded, but it remains limited to 40 watts of installed capacity per capita on average, which is only one-eighth of the average of other developing countries. 85% of the global population without electricity access reside in the region, while four in five families are without access to clean cooking. And the number of people without clean cooking access in the region continues to grow at a rate of 14 million people yearly. Insufficient Access to Affordable Financing Causes Regional Inequalities & Slow Progress. The report identified the lack of sufficient and affordable financing as a key reason for regional inequalities and slow progress. To build on the achievements to date and avoid any further regressions on access to electricity and clean cooking due to looming risks in global markets, the report calls for strengthened international cooperation between the public and private sectors to scale up financial support for developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Urgent actions include reforms in multilateral and bilateral lending to expand the availability of public capital; more concessional finance mobilisation, grants, and risk mitigation instruments; improvement in risk tolerance among donors; as well as appropriate national energy planning and regulations. Key findings across primary indicators Almost 92% of the world’s population now has access to electricity, leaving over 666 million people without electricity in 2023, with around 310 million people gaining access since 2015. Eighteen of the 20 countries with the largest electricity access deficits in 2023 were in sub-Saharan Africa. The greatest growth in access between 2020 and 2023 occurred in Central and Southern Asia, with both regions making significant strides towards universal electricity access, reducing their basic access gap from 414 million in 2010 to just 27 million in 2023. Little to no change was observed in access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking between 2022 and 2023. Although the number of the world’s population with access to clean cooking fuels and technologies increased from 64% in 2015 to 74% in 2023, around 2.1 billion people remain dependent on polluting fuels and technologies. If current trends continue, only 78% of the global population will have access to clean cooking by 2030. Global energy efficiency experienced sluggish progress in recent years. The global trend shows that primary energy intensity, defined as the ratio of total energy supply to gross domestic product, declined by 2.1% in 2022. Although it is an improvement of more than four times the weak 0.5% improvement rate of 2021, it is insufficient to meet the original SDG 7.3 target. Going forward, energy intensity needs to improve by 4% per year on average. Despite an increase in International public financial flows to developing countries by 27% from 2022, reaching USD 21.6 billion in 2023. But the developing world received fewer flows in 2023 than in 2016, when commitments peaked at USD 28.4 billion. Despite gradual diversification, funding remained concentrated, with only two sub-Saharan African countries in the top five recipients. Debt-based instruments drove most of the increase in international public flows in 2023, accounting for 83% in 2023, while grants made up only 9.8% of flows. Tags: Access to Electricity, clean cooking access, Clean Energy, Decentralised Renewable Energy, developing world, Distributed Renewable Energy, financial support, IRENA, market research, sub-Saharan African