SDG 7 – Sustainable Development Goals

We guarantee access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the Open Working Group of the United Nations General Assembly recognize the importance of the natural environment and its resources for human well-being.

Taken together, they constitute an excellent compilation for the 21st century, since seek solutions to the various problems we face as a global community. ODS 7 (“ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”) is a problem that affects all countries and affects us all. To understand why it is necessary to achieve this goal, and what is needed to achieve it, let's analyze point by point the phrase with which it has been formulated. four dimensions of Goal 7 are affordability, the reliability, the sustainability and modernityThese different dimensions are not mutually exclusive, but rather overlap, and in some cases one dimension even leads to another.

Electricity, automated transport and information technology are essential for economic development and are also basic elements of modern society, so energy sources and systems that meet these needs reliably and affordably can be considered “modern.”

Energy should be generated at a constant rate to meet human needs, maintain and improve the functioning of society and improve living conditions. It should also perform these functions in the most sustainable way possible, meaning the amount of energy generated should be much greater than the resulting waste and pollution.

All sustainable energy must be modern, but not all modern forms of energy are sustainable. Coal is perhaps the most important case in point. Historically, coal has been indispensable for industrialization and the advancement of human well-being. If more people today enjoy living conditions that were previously unimaginable, it is largely due to coal. However, its many advantages (such as abundance, wide distribution, and ease of use) are offset by a long list of serious problems, which continues to grow in this age of population growth and environmental degradation.

Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all is a fundamental part of global development in the 21st century.