This event, organized by VENRO (Association of German Development and Humanitarian Aid NGOs) and PowerForAll, focuses on energy poverty and unequal access to energy, with an emphasis on their impact on the SDGs. Currently, over 700 million people lack electricity, particularly impacting vulnerable populations. The recent energy crisis has worsened the situation and led to significant investments in fossil fuel infrastructure. The European Union's emissions and resource extraction for green technologies also have adverse spillover effects, including environmental degradation and forced labor in the Global South.
The existing initiatives on Just Energy Transition primarily target high-emission countries, overlooking the least developed countries (LDCs) that are most affected by energy poverty. In our discussion, we broaden the focus beyond job transitions in the fossil fuel sector to address global justice in phasing out fossil fuels. We aim to ensure equitable access to clean energy for all, exploring strategies to overcome global and local inequalities by designing resilient and decentralized energy systems. The role of the SDG Summit and Climate Ambition Summit in driving progress towards SDG 7 and a just energy transition, meeting the needs of the marginalized, will be a key topic of our discussion. We will also delve into securing financing to overcome energy poverty and what is needed to address the needs of LDCs and vulnerable populations in current just energy transition initiatives.