Presently, there are still countries where just 1 in 10 people has access to electricity

Nov 29, 2013 20:56 GMT  ·  By
The World Bank hopes everybody in the world will have access to electricity by 2030
   The World Bank hopes everybody in the world will have access to electricity by 2030

The United Nations and the World Bank Group are determined to provide everybody in the world with access to electricity by the year 2030.

To this end, they have announced that, under their leadership, governments, international agencies, civil society and the private sector will all work together to ensure that financial considerations do not stand in the way of this very ambitious goal.

Besides lighting up the developing world, the UN and the World Bank want to double energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy. The deadline for this initiative is also the year 2030.

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim says that, according to recent estimates, the costs associated with offering access to electricity to people worldwide, promoting green energy and pushing for sustainability amount to $600 – $800 billion (€441.5 – €588.6 billion) yearly. This money would have to be spent from now until 2030.

“Financing is the key to achieving these objectives. To reach our goals for access to energy, energy efficiency, and renewable energy, we need to mobilize an additional $600-$800 billion a year from now to 2030,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement.

“Energy powers growth and opportunity. We count on all actors to lead by example in scaling up and accelerating action that will provide clean, efficient and sustainable energy for all,” added UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Until now, Brazil, Norway, the Bank of America and OPEC Fund for International Development have all announced their support for this initiative.

Speaking at a recent meeting of the Advisory Board of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, Jim Yong Kim and Ban Ki-moon said that energy assessment are now underway in as many as 42 developing countries totaling 391 million people who lack access to electricity.

12 of these assessments are expected to be complete by April 2014, and will serve to roll out energy investment prospectuses, Jim Yong Kim and Ban Ki-moon detailed.