For the first time in decades, the number of people without access to electricity is set to increase in 2022

The global energy crisis, which will weigh heavily on negotiations at the COP27 Climate Change Conference that starts next week in Egypt, is also undermining efforts to ensure universal access to secure affordable energy, especially in the developing world where populations without access to electricity are once again growing. According to the latest IEA data, the number of people around the world who live without electricity is set to rise by nearly 20 million in 2022, reaching nearly 775 million, the first global increase since the IEA began tracking the numbers 20 years ago. The rise is mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of people without access is nearly back to its 2013 peak. The pandemic, inflation and the energy crisis have set back global progress on universal access to electricity, which must be a top priority at COP27