Energy Compact commitments for achieving Sustainable Energy Goals reach USD 1.4 trillion

The third annual Energy Compacts progress report was launched today at the opening of the EnergyNow SDG7 Action Forum, an event convening energy leaders and experts on the margins of the UN General Assembly. The report shows continued growth in Energy Compacts, which are a platform developed by UN-Energy for securing voluntary commitments that accelerate the transition to renewable energy and provide access to electricity and clean cooking technologies by 2030. 

Since their inception in 2021, 209 institutions and governments have made commitments towards the Energy Compacts process. Between 2021 and 2024, USD 201 billion in finance was mobilized or deployed for Energy Compact actions, nearly a three-fold increase from 2023. This finance represents a substantial scaling-up of efforts to improve energy access for the 685 million people living without electricity and the 2.1 billion still reliant on polluting fuels for cooking.

According to the report, Energy Compact commitments have enhanced electricity access for 177 million people cumulatively between 2021 and 2024, a remarkable increase of 48 million people compared to the last year’s report. However, progress in clean cooking access remains slower, with 23 million people gaining access between 2021 and 2024, which underscores the need for intensified efforts to accelerate growth in this area.

Furthermore, Energy Compact commitments showed that some 43.3 TWh of energy was saved through energy efficiency improvements, a nearly three-fold increase from the 2023 figure. Installed renewable energy capacity more than doubled from 89GW to 245GW between 2021 and 2024, including 451,000 metric tonnes of annual green hydrogen production capacity installed. Over 327,000 electric vehicle charging stations were installed, nearly double the number reported in 2023, and more than 2.7 million electric vehicles were added to the roads.

The report also points to the potential linkages between the Energy Compacts and the process by which national governments are preparing to submit stronger climate commitments and plans, in the form of enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, in the leadup to COP30 in 2025.

Energy Compacts demonstrate the power of partnerships towards collective energy goals; they continue to be instrumental in transitioning away from fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action towards net zero by mid-century, and can play a critical role in the Pact for the Future, which was adopted by world leaders at the United Nations earlier this week.

Quotes

"The initiatives and partnerships highlighted here demonstrate our ability to create impactful change when we unite behind a common goal," notes the leadership of UN-Energy in a joint Foreword by the three officials -- Achim Steiner, Administrator of UNDP and Co-Chair of UN-Energy; Damilola Ogunbiyi, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy; and Li Junhua, the Under-Secretary-General heading the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, which serves as the Secretariat for UN-Energy. "Yet, as we celebrate these milestones, we are reminded that our work is far from over," the three UN-Energy leaders conclude. "Let this report serve as both an inspiration and a challenge to accelerate our efforts, push beyond our limits, and make the vision of sustainable energy a reality for all."

Download the full report here: Energy Compacts Annual Progress Report 2024

For media inquiries please contact:

Sherry Kennedy, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) Sherry.Kennedy@SEforALL.org

Pragati Pascale, UN-Energy Secretariat/UN DESA, pascale@un.org

Francyne Harrigan, UN Department of Global Communications, harriganf@un.org

About Energy Compacts

The Energy Compacts are voluntary, trackable commitments that were launched by UN-Energy in partnership with Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) at the High-Level Dialogue on Energy convened by the UN Secretary-General in September 2021. The Energy Compacts have been designated a "high impact initiative" supporting the UN Secretary-General's call to action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, especially the SDG7 goal of clean, affordable energy for all. Energy Compact supporters include governments, corporations, international organisations, philanthropies, and a range of other stakeholders working towards achieving SDG7 and the clean energy transition.

More on Energy Compacts here: www.seforall.org/programmes/un-energy/energy-compacts