Sustainable energy for slums? Using the Sustainable Development Goals to guide energy access efforts in a Kenyan informal settlement

Emily Christley,Hanna Ljungberg,Emmanuel Ackom,Francesco Fuso Nerini

doi:10.1016/j.erss.2021.102176

Emily Christley, Hanna Ljungberg + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102176

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Abstract

Urban and peri-urban communities across the Global South face considerable energy access challenges with over one billion people living without adequate access to basic services such as energy, water, and healthcare. Lack of access to modern energy services has cascading effects on the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this article we address this issue, using the SDGs as a framework to evaluate how policies and plans for local energy access can be coordinated with all SDG Targets. With a case study in Kibera, Kenya, we analyse how local energy access could enable or inhibit all local SDG Targets. Based on this knowledge, we propose a set of actions to achieve full modern energy access without compromising other local Sustainable Development Goals. We propose a new taxonomy to evaluate how actions affect the interlinkages between local energy access and the achievement of the SDGs. We find that the SDGs, applied as a framework to direct national policies and strategic projects, offer a holistic outlook, helping to unpack discrete thinking and support an integrated sustainable future for all.

Highlights

Energy access is recognised as an enabler for sustainable develop ment, and its importance is acknowledged in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda
By using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework for analysis, we reveal the cross-sectoral implications of actions beyond energy, including cobenefits for health, water and sanitation, climate, and other SDGs
This structured knowledge of the distributional impacts that electricity and clean cooking via liq uefied petroleum gas (LPG) has on the local achievement of the SDGs provides useful knowledge to motivate and structure policy and pro grammes to further energy access in Kibera

Summary

Introduction

Energy access is recognised as an enabler for sustainable develop ment, and its importance is acknowledged in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 aims to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all” [1]. Lack of energy access is often framed as the plight of rural areas, but considerable challenges remain in urban communities within or on the outskirts of cities [3,4]. Approxi mately one in three urban inhabitants dwell in informal settlements and slum households, without access to basic services – potable water, appropriate housing, healthcare – and modern energy [2,5,6]. Target 11.1 of SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities aims to improve the condition of these urban residences and “ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums” [1]. Given the growing urbanisation across the developing world, the inaccessibility of modern energy services to these urban communities presents an urgent challenge [7]

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