Addressing Energy Poverty
Date & Time: 29 May 2024 | 09:30 ET | 15:30 CET | 17:00 IST | 21:30 SINGAPORE
Description
Access to affordable and clean energy, the goal of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal- 7 (SDG 7), is crucial since remaining SDGs are directly or indirectly related to its attainment. However, reality indicates that we are far from achieving SDG 7 targets. There are close to 700 million people still without access to energy, an overwhelming percentage of whom belong to low income, rural, indigenous or forcibly displaced communities in sub Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Compounding the problem of energy access is the affordability of energy and the challenge of energy efficiency. For instance, only a tiny percentage of rural populations in low income countries have access to the internet. In many households there is continued use of fossil fuels for cooking leading to environmental pollution which in some cases have led to fatalities.
On the bright side, there are examples of successful multi-sector partnerships that have demonstrated success in addressing energy poverty. One such case study is the partnership between Gram Vikas, SBI Foundation, Odisha State Planning Board, and CAT International Projects who joined hands for the ‘Solar Micro-Grid Renewal Project for Rural Lives & Livelihoods’ in rural Odisha, India.
In this webinar, Shakti Saran, Founder, Shaktify will be in conversation with Liby Johnson, Executive Director, Gram Vikas and Eshaan Patheria, Doctoral candidate at California who led the solar micro-grid project for Gram Vikas. The objectives of this webinar are two-fold. The first is to understand the web of factors that contribute to the global energy poverty phenomenon while the second is to apply learnings from the Odisha project in tackling the global energy poverty challenge.
Speakers
Liby Johnson
Executive Director, Gram Vikas
Eshaan Patheria
PhD. Candidate at California Institute of Technology
Shakti Saran
Founder, Shaktify
