Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2026

Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report is an annual inter-agency publication monitoring global advancement towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, which aims to ensure affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. The report aims to provide the international community with a global dashboard to register progress on energy access, energy efficiency, renewable energy and international cooperation to advance SDG 7.

The latest data underscore both the substantial progress made in recent years and the significant challenges that remain on the path to 2030. An estimated 655 million people worldwide still lack access to electricity, while two billion relied on polluting fuels and technologies for cooking in 2024, with Sub-Saharan Africa remaining the most severely affected region. Continued growth in renewable energy deployment is an encouraging sign: installed renewable energy-generating capacity reached a global record of 544 watts per person in 2024. However, gains in the share of renewables in total final energy consumption – which stood at 18 percent in 2023 – and improvements in global energy intensity have been modest. International public financial flows supporting clean energy in developing countries increased only slightly in 2024, reaching at least USD 24.6 billion, amid the first decline in total official development assistance (ODA) in five years and a challenging outlook for the years ahead.

Jointly produced by IRENA in collaboration with the International Energy Agency (IEA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), the 2026 edition was chaired by UNSD. The authors stress that the global energy transition is unfolding against a backdrop of compounding crises that have repeatedly disrupted progress and whose full implications remain uncertain at the time of publication. Successive shocks have underscored the fact that progress toward SDG 7 depends not only on ambitious policy, but also on geopolitical stability and the resilience of international cooperation. In this context, accelerating renewable energy deployment and improving energy efficiency in line with SDG7 provide a critical opportunity for strengthening energy security by diversifying energy sources, reducing dependence on fossil fuel imports and bolstering macroeconomic resilience.

Related dashboards and additional information may be accessed through the Tracking SDG 7 website.