EXPLAINER-Pandemic and Ukraine war threaten clean energy gains for poorest

Where are efforts lagging on providing access to electric power? The share of the world's population with access to electricity rose from 83% in 2010 to 91% in 2020, the latest year for which data is available. The number of people who still do not have electric power has dropped steadily to 733 million in 2020. But the rate of progress on electrification has slowed since 2018, the report said, mainly because of the complexity of reaching poorer communities in rural areas, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BARCELONA, June 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Progress on a global goal to provide everyone on the planet with clean power and cooking by 2030 is expected to slow down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and energy price spikes caused by the Ukraine war, international organisations warned on Wednesday.

Efforts have inched forward over the past decade - but meeting the targets - viewed as key to protecting the climate and human health - will require far greater political will and funding, they said in a new report.