October 2015: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has published a report on the challenges the Asia-Pacific region faces in meeting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7. The goal is based on the three targets of the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) Partnership for 2030: ensuring universal access to modern energy services; doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

The report, titled ‘Sustainable Energy for All: Tracking Progress in Asia and the Pacific,’ recognizes the linkages between energy and the health and wellbeing of women and children. It highlights good practices in the region and includes case studies showing how modern energy can transform women and children’s lives, and contribute to development.

While economies in Asia and the Pacific are on track to meet the SE4All goal, it remains to be seen whether the pace is sufficient to reach this goal by 2030. The report summarizes the initial activities of the SE4All Asia-Pacific Regional Hub, which monitors the region’s performance and reveals progress in achieving the objectives of universal energy access and improved energy efficiency. The report points to an increase in the contribution of solar and wind energy to electricity generation, and explains that countries in the region have made progress over the last five years in implementing policy measures and programmes to increase energy access, energy efficiency and renewable energy use.

Specifically, the report has sections on: monitoring Asia and the Pacific’s performance towards the SE4All targets; the energy–women–children–health nexus, with subsections on the labor and health burden of traditional energy services, transforming women’s and children’s lives through modern energy, and integrating women into the energy supply chain; and the SE4All partnership, which addresses country action processes and initiatives.

ADB, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) are the lead organizations for the SE4All Regional Hub for Asia and the Pacific, and are supporting actions among developing countries in the region that will put them on track to transform their energy sectors. [ADB Report Website] [Publication: Sustainable Energy for All: Tracking Progress in Asia and the Pacific]