Renewables trade to tackle global energy poverty

Improving international trade of clean energy will help to lift millions of people in developing countries out of poverty, industry leaders said

“The UN Secretary General describes energy as the golden thread that runs through all the pillars of sustainable development,” Kandeh Yumkella, special representative to the United Nations (UN) Secretary General, said. “Without access to energy you can’t run the hospitals, you can’t build up the educational systems well and you can’t ensure women’s economic empowerment.” There are 1.2 billion people in the world without access to electricity, according to the World Bank. Most of these people live in southeast Asia and sub-saharan Africa. India and Nigeria are the worst affected countries, with 306 million people and 82m people, respectively, still without access to electricity. There are als