Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 is Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all, with the objective of global implementation of a stable and sustainable energy system, phasing out fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas), and creating a renewable energy infrastructure for a secure and constant source of energy to power homes and businesses. As the half-way point of the SDGs draws near, achieving globally stable and efficient energy presents a complex challenge for fossil fuel-reliant countries and particularly in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). For example, as of 2023, 269 million people live without a consistent light source, with 4 in 5 of them living in sub-Saharan Africa (1).

Lack of energy stability has drastic repercussions in intersectional issues such as employment, economic security, education and human health. In LDCs, lack of adequate energy infrastructure makes it necessary to complete tasks such as cooking using carbon-emitting biomass fuels. In Uganda, 94.7% of households primarily use biomass fuels, with 32.7% cooking inside personal dwellings, causing severe respiratory illnesses induced by indoor air pollution (2).

In Canada, air-polluting fossil fuels still dominate the transportation sector in part due to vast geographic scale of the world’s second-largest country, and news outlets have widely reported individuals deciding to sell their electric trucks and cars mid-journey due to lack of EV-supportive infrastructure (3). Government investments are being made into increased electric vehicle charging stations to narrow the distances between charging points to improve the EV network (4).

Promising developments are being made worldwide towards creating reliable energy systems, including significant improvements made in Canada, sustainably utilizing the country’s abundant natural resources.

Renewable energy holds great national prominence, with 60% of electricity in Canada generated using hydro-electric systems (5). Canadian Federal Minister of the Environment Steven Guilbeault has also pledged to publish regulations requiring all energy generated in Canada to be produced from non-emitting sources by 2035 (6).

Encouraging progress has been made globally towards achieving SDG 7, however it is a long way from being fully achieved. In Least Developed Countries, lack of access to clean and reliable energy poses a genuine threat to human health and well-being. It is vital that stable infrastructure is put in place in Canada as well as globally, and that all current and future energy consumers perspectives and requirements be included to create an efficient, long-lasting system. Only through meaningful and diverse collaboration at local, national, and international levels can a just energy transition be achieved. 

Photo Credit: Osprey perched above Merrickville Hydro-electric Generating Station Dam, Ontario, Canada. Photo by F.N. Brown.

Sources:
1. Sustainable Development Goal 7. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 

https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal7

2. S. T. Wafula, A. Nalugya, H. Mendoza, W.K. Kansiime, T. Ssekamatte, A. W. Walekhwa, R. K. Mungambe, F. Walter, J. C. Ssempebwa, D. Musoke. 17 August 2023. Indoor air pollutants and respiratory symptoms among residents of an informal urban settlement in Uganda: A cross-sectional study. National Library of Medicine PLoS One. 2023; 18(8): e0290170. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10434877/

3. J. Crabb. 10 August 2023. Family ditches electric truck on drive from Winnipeg to Chicago after charging troubles. CBC News

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/electric-vehicle-trip-charging-infrastructure-1.6932074

4. Thierry Spiess. 31 March 2022. Updated Projections of Canada’s Public Charging Infrastructure Needs. Government of Canada-Natural Resources Canada

https://natural-resources.canada.ca/energy-efficiency/transportation-alternative-fuels/resource-library/updated-projections-canadas-public-charging-infrastructure-needs/24504

5. Provincial and Territorial Energy Profiles-Canada.

23 August 2023. Government of Canada: Canada Energy Regulator.

https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/provincial-territorial-energy-profiles/provincial-territorial-energy-profiles-canada.html#:~:text=More%20than%20half%20of%20the,of%20hydropower%20in%20the%20world.

6. M. Rabson. 20 July 2023. Canada’s looming power problem is massive and time is running out, report says.

Financial Post.

https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/renewables/canadas-looming-power-problem-is-massive-and-time-is-running-out-report-says