landing

Overview

The Flagship publication titled “Energy Transition Pathways for the 2030 Agenda in Asia and the Pacific” suggests that under the current policy settings the region will not achieve all the SDG7 targets by 2030 (ESCAP, 2018). Access to electricity will reach 99 per cent by 2030, leaving an estimated 63 million people in the region without access. Slow progress in access to clean cooking technology and the lack of support in the current policy environment will see 1.6 billion people cooking with traditional biomass by 2030. While significant growth in renewables has taken place in absolute terms, estimates show that under the current policy environment, the region’s renewable energy share will grow from 7 per cent today to 14 per cent by 2030. The RE share will need to reach 35 per cent if both SDG7 and the Paris Agreement are to be achieved by 2030. Energy efficiency in the region is improving, however, at the current trajectory, it is expected to fall short of reaching the SDG7 target.

The achievement of the SDG7 targets requires an integrated system approach by considering the synergies between its constituent elements - increasing access to modern energy services, improving energy efficiency, reducing emissions from the energy sector, and increasing the share of renewable energy. Constraints, such as resources availability and the emission reduction targets under the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), need to be considered. A national SDG7 implementation roadmap, that aligns with the existing national energy plan and strategy with SDG7 targets and NDCs as well as provides guidance for policymakers on what is required to achieve SDG7 and NDC targets, can offer a set of policy recommendations informed by scenario-based energy transition pathways.

ESCAP has developing a framework - the National Expert SDG Tool for Energy Planning (NEXSTEP) to support the development of national SDG7 roadmaps. This framework enables policymakers to make informed policy decisions in supporting the achievement of the SDG7 and emission reduction targets. This initiative has been undertaken in response to the Ministerial Declaration of the 2nd Asian and Pacific Energy Forum (April 2018, Bangkok) and the Commission Resolution 74/9. It has further garnered the support of the second session of the Committee on Energy.