![\"UN](\"https:\/\/www.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/E_SDG-goals_icons-individual-rgb-07-150x150.png\"){kind=icon}
Without energy, the world as we know it would \u2013 literally \u2013 grind to a halt.<\/p>\nWithout energy, the world as we know it would \u2013 literally \u2013 grind to a halt.<\/p>\n
Just think about it for a moment.\u00a0 It powers our cities, heats our homes, supports our water and food systems, and drives our factories.\u00a0 And as wealth increases and markets develop, we need more and more . . .\u00a0 and more, of it.\u00a0 In 2020, global energy consumption reached a record 173,340 tera-watt hours[1]<\/a>.\u00a0 In fact, over the past half century, global energy consumption has risen every year except two \u2013 the most recent being 2009 in the midst of the global financial crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n Providing sufficient energy to meet this demand is vital to help drive global development and increase living standards in key regions across the world.<\/p>\n As if that wasn\u2019t challenge enough, it also needs to be done in a way that is affordable, sustainable, and that enables communities to develop and thrive.\u00a0<\/p>\n In this context, achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7<\/a>) \u2013 ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all \u2013 with its targets on universal access, energy efficiency and renewable energy, is vital to open up a new world of opportunity for billions of people. \u00a0<\/p>\n SDG7 lays the foundation for the eradication of poverty, for climate action and for a sustainable world.<\/p>\n Simply put, in the words of the UN: \u201cWithout progress on SDG 7, it will be impossible to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.\u201d[2]<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n![\"SDG7](\"https:\/\/www.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2021\/09\/SDG_report_2021_Goal-7-1.png\")
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