How our new partnership with SEforALL will help close the global energy access gap
June 17, 2019
Today, the IKEA Foundation and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) have announced a new partnership that aims to make sure no one is left behind in the transition to renewable energy.
The partnership builds upon our joint commitment to make faster progress towards meeting Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7), which calls for affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030.
Millions of people are severely limited in their opportunities to create better lives because they do not have access to safe, reliable energy to power their homes, schools and businesses. Around 840 million people globally still do not have access to even a basic electricity supply. Just under three billion people live without access to clean cooking solutions.
We believe access to sustainable energy lies at the heart of ensuring everyone can prosper by supporting job creation, economic development, safe healthcare and the full empowerment of women.
“We remain committed to powering communities with renewable energy,” says Jeffrey Prins, Renewable Energy Lead, IKEA Foundation. “We all need to step up to meet the global targets for SDG 7 to ensure access to energy and clean cooking, renewable energy and energy efficiency. We are supporting SEforALL to make renewable-energy access easier, quicker, more affordable, sustainable and inclusive for all.”
SEforALL’s work with the IKEA Foundation will focus on supporting policy development and flows of finance in the countries where the gaps in energy access are greatest. For example, in 16 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa an estimated one in two people still do not have access to electricity, and millions more have minimal or intermittent access.
Jim Walker, Director of Partnerships at Sustainable Energy for All, says: “IKEA Foundation and SEforALL have a shared vision that universal access to sustainable energy is essential if we are to tackle the poverty and environmental degradation that adversely shape millions of children’s lives today.
“We are therefore delighted to be partnering with the Foundation to bring renewable energy to those communities around the world who are most in need, and where our collective impact can be greatest.”
