Tracking SDG 7 Report: The Energy Progress Report 2020- Ethiopia Policy Case Review+ Opinion Piece

Part II

Background

Left with a decade to meet SDG 7 goals, the current pace of electrification through to the last mile is far from sufficient. The world has to do better.

Among the SDG 7 targets, achieving universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy services (Target 7.1) is the one that has the most profound implication for Ethiopia having only 45% and less than 5% access to electricity and cooking services respectively.

SDG 7: Target 7.2 calls for substantial increase of the share of renewable energy in the energy mix. The most predictable positive development in Ethiopian Energy system is the fact that almost all grid supply (except backups) comes from renewable sources. Many key projects from multiple sources are under development to minimize the current hydro dependency. There are also interests and signals to shift the transportation and industrial use to electric sources albeit at early stages.

SDG 7: Target 7.3 calls for energy efficiency improvement. For Ethiopia, although the energy intensity (units of energy per unit of GDP) slightly declines over the years reaching 9.7(MJ/USD 2011 PPP) in 2017, it still needs a significant improvement even to hit the global average of 5.0 the same year. In my view, the historically low electricity tariff in the country has played a significant role for the inaction or lower efficiency performance.

The report provides policy recommendations based on best practices as identified by national authorities and the international community as insights to emulate.

In reference to the best practice insights provided, based on the publicly available rate of access and informed by the country practice, this article will shade some light on the Ethiopia case as a matter of bringing the topic to the larger public attention. Hoping it would drive further discussion and action. Given the significance, this review will focus only on target 7.1. You are advised to read the full report for a complete picture of the progress of all the energy targets

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