ONE Youth Ambassador, Elisabetta from Italy, has made a short video about energy poverty.
If someone turned off the lights in the room you’re in now, would you be able to see anything? Imagine it was pitch black. It would be hard to imagine a bright future. However, this could change.
Lack of access to electricity and modern energy sources intensely limits economic development and keeps millions of people in extreme poverty. Increasing access to energy can change lives by improving living conditions and by giving people the chance to improve their skills, for example by going to school. However, 30% of health centres and over a third of primary schools in Africa have to function with no electricity at all.
Unless we take action to address this issue, almost 645 million people in sub-Saharan Africa will still not have electricity in 2030 – that’s nearly half of the projected population. For this reason, 2015 plays a central role. This year, decisions must be taken and the poorest need to be put first – world leaders must invest in the fight against energy poverty.
Tackling the lack of access to energy is an important challenge facing the poorest countries, but solving it will be an incredible step towards overcoming extreme poverty.