What if energy poverty was eradicated by 2030? [38]
Summary of the Article: Eradicating energy poverty by 2030—i.e., achieving universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for households and productive uses—would yield outsized gains in health, education, gender equity, and economic productivity. Today, ~685 million people lack electricity (2022) and ~2.1 billion lack clean cooking ; progress has slowed post‑pandemic, with a first‑time reversal in global electrification in 2022. Achieving universal access by 2030 would require (i) accelerated grid and decentralized renewables scale‑up, (ii) affordability instruments (lifeline tariffs, targeted subsidies), and (iii) massive last‑mile financing, particularly in Sub‑Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. [worldbank.org] [iea.org] , [trackingsd....esmap.org] India’s near‑universal electrification and rapid smart‑metering rollout provide a replicable playbook for reliability and cost recovery, while clean cooking requires sustained support (LPG affordability, last‑...