If you have been closely following the global electrification drive, you would have heard of the ‘Power for All’ campaign. It is driven by a mission to deliver energy access to all by including decentralised energy solutions, mobilizing capital and delivering high quality energy technology solutions. Power for All is supported by UK Aid, UN Environment, Climate Works among other agencies. Partners associated with power for all campaign include various agencies working on energy access in India and Sub-Saharan Africa.
William Brent, a Director in the Power for All campaign joined in the conversation on Emerging Tech Radio podcast to talk about their objectives, progress and particularly on the opportunities for cross-region collaboration between India and Africa in the space of energy access
Part 1
In the first episode, William Brent spoke about Power for All’s campaign objectives work and progress in India and Sub Saharan Africa. He did highlight a few key findings from IEA’s recent publication, Energy Access Outlook for 2017. The report incidentally points out to a lack of progress in electrification in Sub Saharan Africa where it is failing to keep track of the population growth in spite of increased awareness. On contrast in India nearly 500m have gained access to electricity since 2000 i.e. close to 85% of the population have access to electricity in comparison to less than 50% in 2000. With the new electrification scheme, Saubhagya, India has a target of 100% electrification by end of 2018. The power for all campaign has also greatly emphasised on the United Nations Sustainable Development goals, particularly, SDG No 7 which aims to ensure affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. The Sustainable Development Goals aim to achieve the objectives by 2030.
In the second part of our conversation where we discuss the technical collaborations that is happening between India and Sub Saharan Africa in the space of energy access and what are the key challenges to be addressed if the energy access for all is to be a global reality.
Part 2
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