About 733 million people – almost 1 in 10 worldwide – do not have access to electricity and the dignity and opportunities it brings. In addition, about 2.4 billion people, a third of the world’s population, do not have access to clean technologies and energy for cooking. Instead, they are often using fuels that create health, environmental and social costs that disproportionately impact women and children.  

Access to clean, affordable, reliable energy means equality. It means dignity. It can create opportunities for human development.

UNDP and its partners aim to accelerate access to sustainable clean energy to help communities power hospitals and schools, support livelihoods and advance socio-economic growth.

Now more than ever, we need to think differently, be more inclusive and work collectively to meet the challenge head-on. 

The UNDP Accelerator Labs and the UNDP Sustainable Energy Hub, with support from the Honey Bee Network and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, have joined forces to launch #peoplepowered – a campaign to celebrate, source and learn from grassroots innovators and their solutions to advocate for clean energy access for all.

About the UNDP Sustainable Energy Hub: The Sustainable Energy Hub is an all-of-UNDP initiative to support countries in advancing a just energy transition by helping transform their energy systems. From building green and inclusive economies to advancing global climate goals, the Hub aims to bring about a completely new way of thinking about sustainable energy for development. It catalyzes knowledge, innovation, finance, and partnerships across sectors and at the local, national, regional, and global levels to assist progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals and put the world on track of a sustainable future that leaves no-one behind. Learn more at www.undp.org/energy or follow us at @UNDPClimate on Twitter.

About the UNDP Accelerator Labs: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Accelerator Labs are the world’s largest and fastest learning network on wicked sustainable development challenges. Co-built as a joint venture with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany and the Qatar Fund for Development, the Network covers 115 countries, and taps into local innovations to create actionable insights and reimagine sustainable development for the 21st century. Learn more at www.undp.org/acceleratorlabs or follow us at @UNDPAccLabs on Twitter.