Welcome to the United Nations
“Sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that promotes the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development: building an inclusive and effective path for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in the context of the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development”.
A. Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of the SDGs under review in the 2021 HLPF, bearing in mind the interlinkages with SDG 7
COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating effect around the world. Response measures, including widespread lockdowns, have disrupted production and supply chains, shrunk demand for goods and services, depressed commodity prices and caused a massive economic contraction. Alongside the health crisis, hundreds of millions of people have lost their jobs or seen their livelihoods threatened.
Renewable energy, while suffering impacts from the pandemic along with the whole global economy, has proven to be more resilient than other parts of the sector. This was especially true for renewable power, given that electricity demand was much less affected than that for transport fuels, for example. Electricity systems with high shares of renewables continued to operate effectively.
The latest numbers of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) show that new renewable power generation projects now increasingly undercut generation costs of existing coal-fired plants. While renewable energy capacity has more than doubled between 2010 and 2019, reaching over 2 500 gigawatts (GW) globally,1 the cost of renewables decreased drastically. On average, the costs of the new solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind power are now lower than the marginal costs of existing coal plants in operation. This year, up to 1 200 GW of existing coal capacity could cost more to operate than the cost of new utility-scale solar PV.
Apart from these technology-oriented figures, access to and deployment of renewable energy offers a variety of socio-economic benefits for short- and medium- recovery from the pandemic in the efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda and in the long-term quest for climate stability. By making the energy transition an integral part of the wider recovery, governments can realize a step-change in the pursuit of a healthy, inclusive, prosperous, just and resilient future in global solidarity that leaves no one behind. While SDG 7 on energy is not under review during this year’s High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), transitioning to sustainable energy and improved energy access is a prerequisite for reaching many other SDGs, and particularly those under assessment this year.
No poverty and zero hunger. Most of the world’s poor people live in rural areas and rely on farming, keeping livestock, operating aquaculture, and other agricultural work. Increasing access to affordable, reliable modern energy for productive uses, such as agricultural activities, generates incomes, enhances resilience to shocks and catalyses socio-economic development. Feeding the projected 2050 world population of some 10 billion people sustainably presents a big challenge, given that food systems currently consume 30% of the world’s available energy, and energy is responsible for about 35% of GHG emissions from agri-food chains. The energy transition will need to be closely aligned with efforts to transform food systems to jointly advance the SDGs.
Good health and well-being. Over a billion people globally are served by health facilities without access to electricity. Distributed renewable energy solutions can permit healthcare centres to improve their level of response to the pandemic. Such solutions also ensure access to water and sanitation services and continued operation of critical infrastructure, such as mobile testing centres and laboratories, as well as cooling along the supply chains for vaccines and other medicines on which so many healthcare services rely.
WHO estimates that 7 million people die every year from exposure to fine particles and air pollution generated to a large extent by the burning of fossil fuels or inefficient use of biomass.5 The switch to clean renewable energy sources, would improve the air quality and bring greater prosperity by reducing ill health.
Decent work and economic growth. IRENA estimates employment in renewable energy worldwide at 11.5 million in 2019, up from 11 million in 2018. Women hold just 32% of these jobs, most in administrative posts and rarely in higher management positions, indicating a need to improve the sector’s gender balance and ensure that it benefits from women’s skills and perspectives. Available evidence suggests that investing in renewable energy employs more people than investing in fossil fuels. On average, spending USD 1 million on renewables creates 7.49 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs, almost triple the 2.65 FTE jobs in fossil fuels.6
Globally, investments in the renewable energy transition can create additional 19 million jobs in renewables, energy efficiency and energy system flexibility over the next decade and boost GDP by an extra 1.3%.
Reduced inequalities. Energy lies at the heart of human development. It is a critical factor in economic activity and essential for the provision of human needs, including adequate food, shelter and healthcare, and therefore in reducing inequalities also from the gender perspective. While opportunities exist to improve gender balance and make greater use of women’s skills, women already hold 32% of jobs in renewables compared to 22% in oil and gas.
Climate action. With over two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions coming from the energy sector, a transition to cleaner forms of energy is essential for fulfilling the Paris Agreement target. According to IRENA, rapid uptake of renewables, coupled with energy efficiency, can achieve around 90% of the energy-related emission reductions needed by 2050.9 Renewable energy can also contribute to adaptation efforts, by promoting the diversification of the power supply and by building resilience through improved energy access.
Peace and justice. The UN Security Council has been examining the impact of climate change on international peace and security since 2007.10 Climate change will have widespread effects that defence and security experts call ‘threat multipliers’ because they can worsen scarcity of food and water, increase poverty, and aggravate risks of conflict and political instability. Renewables induce geopolitical effects by mitigating climate change. Renewables also enable countries to strengthen their energy security and achieve greater energy independence by harnessing the vast indigenous renewable energy sources that can be found across the planet.
