First poverty, now pandemic threatens access to electricity

(Reuters, 28 May 2020) Fallout from COVID-19 could derail efforts to meet a global goal to provide power to everyone on the planet by 2030, agencies warn.

One in 10 people lack electricity and the pandemic will likely make it harder still to meet a global goal of getting power to everyone by 2030, international organisations said on Thursday.

An annual report tracking progress on sustainable energy said more than a billion people have won access to electricity since 2010, with 90% of the planet connected in 2018.

But that still left 789 million people without power.

And even before the outbreak of COVID-19 threw up new obstacles, the report estimated 620 million people would remain without electricity in 2030, 85% of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Reuters, 28 May 2020: First poverty, now pandemic threatens access to electricity