The United Nations has urged governments and international financial institutions to significantly increase investment in clean energy and sustainable infrastructure, warning that financing gaps are slowing progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
In his latest SDG Progress Report, UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted that while global electricity access has reached 92 percent of the world’s population, nearly one in twelve people still lack reliable power.
The report also highlights that renewable energy capacity per capita grew by 14 percent between 2023 and 2024, reaching more than double its 2015 level.
Despite these gains, the report cautions that declining development assistance and weaker investment flows threaten further expansion of clean energy, particularly in developing countries.
Official Development Assistance (ODA) fell by 6.1 percent in 2024, while foreign direct investment (FDI) to developing economies declined by 2 percent in 2025.
