2025 – Time to get global energy goals back on track

Where did the year go? That’s what many practitioners we meet are saying.

This indicates how busy we’ve all been, working towards ensuring everyone, everywhere, can live a dignified life on a healthy planet, powered by sustainable energy.

2024 saw the revelation that we are backsliding when it comes to energy access targets, the SDG7 Tracking Reportshowed that for the first time in over a decade, electricity access was unable to keep up with population growth. Our SEforALL analysis also showed that apart from progress in a handful of countries, we are also backsliding in the provision of clean cooking technologies and fuels. If we are to achieve SDG7 by 2030, we must provide electricity access to 157,000,000 people per year; and increase clean cooking access by 334,000,000 people each year!

It is a herculean task, but not an insurmountable one.

This is why Mission 300, the ambitious initiative unveiled in April 2024 by the World Bank and the African Development Bank, working with SEforALL, the Global Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), and The Rockefeller Foundation is so significant. It would halve the number of people living without electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa and meet the needs of 43% of those living without electricity globally. In addition, no progress happens in isolation, Mission 300 would help catalyse clean energy markets in countries with widespread energy poverty, offering price discovery gains, business models and delivery mechanisms at scale that can help accelerate progress far beyond the 300 million people that will be the direct beneficiaries of this effort.  

Another notable mechanism working towards solving the energy access challenge is the Energy Compacts, hosted by UN-Energy and championed by SEforALL, which have increased ambition towards SDG7. The total finance committed through the Energy Compacts has grown from USD 400 billion in 2021 to USD 1.4 trillion in 2024.    

By generating further leadership and investment, these Energy Compacts are set to drive substantial actions, including phasing out coal-fired power, decarbonizing energy systems, and promoting economic growth and job creation, thus contributing robustly to the global agenda of achieving the SDGs by 2030.    

So, what are we looking forward to in 2025?  

Global energy investment is projected to surpass USD 3 trillion in 2024, with USD 2 trillion allocated to clean energy technologies. We see 2025 being the year when renewable energy investments continue to far outpace new fossil fuel investments. At the same time, we foresee key players directing more investments into emerging and developing economies, suggesting a potential new trend.

Energy is at the heart of the climate challenge – and key to the solution. We saw in 2024, global temperatures hitting record highs and extreme weather events affecting people in all corners of the world. Considering this existential threat to our planet, 2025 must be the moment for the global community to double down on the efforts to reduce emissions and limit temperature rise.  

The Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which are national climate action plans, will take centre stage. The current NDCs limit the global temperature increase to between 2.4 to 2.6°C equating to a reduction of 5.3% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. However, according to the IPCC, a decrease of 43% is needed to limit temperature rise.  

Therefore, the NDC 3.0 process that will culminate in February 2025 – the deadline for countries to submit their updated NDCs – will be another major moment and we hope that there will be strong commitments and proactive responses to the 2023 global stocktake decision.

COP29 saw the reversal of hard-won gains as there was no agreement on phasing out of fossil fuels, and the new climate finance goal of USD 300 billion annually by 2035, is viewed as largely inadequate. COP30, hosted by Brazil, will be a major moment to recalibrate our collective fight against climate change. We are thrilled that the SEforALL Global Forum is one of the key milestone moments on the road to COP30, where global leaders and changemakers will look to secure even greater commitments for a just and equitable energy transition, combining learnings from the Bridgetown Initiative, with the people-centered approach driven by the Brazilian Presidency to further enable the advancement of clean energy solutions in underserved sectors and markets.  

Finally, there has been a growing trend of developing countries showing their leadership on the global stage, when it comes to issues on climate, development and energy. We do see this trend continuing in 2025 with these countries working towards improving access to energy for their people, while contributing to the global fight against climate change.  

There is a win-win potential that can be gained from collective action. The global community must continue to work with developing countries and provide the needed finance and technical assistance that can go well beyond supporting their economic development. With a growing number of youth, abundant renewable energy resources and increasing improvements in policies, these countries could provide a pathway for a more inclusive, green and prosperous world. That is our driving force and resolution for 2025!