ABSTRACT
Energy is vital. Energy is required for basic human needs: cooking, heating, lighting, boiling water and for other household-based activities. Energy is also required to sustain and expand economic processes like agriculture, electricity production, industries, services and transport. It is commonly suggested that access to energy is closely linked with development and economic growth and that alleviating energy poverty is a prerequisite to fulfil the Millennium Development Goals. This has been acknowledged in the UN Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, which has the target to provide access to modern energy services to everyone world-wide by 2030.
