Powering People and Planet 2022
Close to half of us on Earth – around 3.6 billion people – lack access to reliable, abundant electricity. This absence deprives communities of the ability to develop – to communicate, study, irrigate crops, refrigerate foods, and run factories. Lack of power blocks their path to prosperity.
Bringing clean energy to these communities is the key to global development. From remote villages to urban centers, clean energy can spark economic growth, innovation, jobs, and self-advancement.
Powering that crucial development for people across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean will require about four times Germany’s annual energy consumption. If this energy comes from fossil-fuel-fired power plants, the resulting emissions will significantly worsen the climate crisis.
Fortunately, we now have the means to tackle these realities and power future development, while also combating climate change. Clean energy technologies are becoming cheaper, more effective, and easier to deploy. Today we can produce more energy while cutting emissions.
Powering People and Planet 2022
The Earth is now home to 8 billion people—yet close to half still don’t have access to reliable electricity to power their lives and livelihoods.We launched our flagship Powering People and Planet Report at COP27 which details how we can change energy to end energy poverty and combat climate change.