Page 61 - EN_final

SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy

The pursuit of affordable and clean energy is one of the key SDGs, and one which requires much
goodwill from national governments and organizations at the regional and local levels. Secondly,
clean energy is cheap in the long run, since the benefits reaped from the investments initially
made have a long duration. Thirdly, there is a reduction in expenditures with the purchase of fossil

fuels, a matter of relevance to poor countries and small developing island states. Fourthly,
affordable and clean energy encourages economic growth in all countries where is implemented
(Franco et al. 2021).
● Energy accessibility

As for the definition of energy access, it can be broadly defined as the ability to deliver quality
energy that is adequate and affordable to make possible the provision of energy services for
consumptive and productive uses both at the household and national levels. Though there is no
single working definition agreed upon at the international level, this definition encompasses the

many facets offered by organizations and scholars in the field (Tarekegne, 2021).
● Fossil fuels and the environment

Fossil fuels in providing energy and power led to the associated emissions of pollutants such as
sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx),
the latter three being significant greenhouse gases (Walsh, 2021) linked to the global warming
and fossil fuels are non-renewable energies since their stock is running out (Chernysh et al.,
2021).

● Transition to sustainable energy
Several policies have been introduced to help chart a global pathway to clean energy solutions

which are both deemed more efficient and can engender the needed green transformation along
the value chain (United Nations Development Programme, 2022).
Operationally, SDG7 can be implemented by investments in renewable energy which is a kind of
clean and sustainable energy source that is rapidly renovated naturally, since the sources are
water, wind, solar, ocean, and thermal (Sasana & Ghozali, 2017).

SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production

The SDG 12 suggests taking action in the field of raising awareness of consumers about their
everyday choices, as well as the suppliers and producers about the procedures that they realize
and governments about the regulations that they create to enable or facilitate responsible and
sustainable product life cycle and in general moving toward more sustainable patterns of
consumption by 2030 (Machnik et al, 2020).

61
3 61