Energy and the Millennium Development Goals

What are the Millennium Development goals? In 2000 a large number of

countries around the world

who form the United

Nations agreed on 8

goals they would try to

reach by 2030 that would

dramatically improve the

lives of poor people around

the world. They called them

the Millennium

Development Goals or

MDGs

The 8 Millennium Development Goals

are…Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty

Achieve universal primary education

Promote Gender equality and empower women

Reduce child mortality

Improve maternal health

Combat HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases

Ensure environmental sustainability

Develop a global partnership for development

Energy and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)The United Nation’s Secretary

General Ban Ki Moon realised

that making sure poor people

have energy is essential if we

hope to meet the MDGs. He

made 2012 the

International Year of

Sustainable Energy

for All

‘Universal energy access is a foundation for the MDGs…without energy

services the poor are cut off from basic amenities’’

Watch this video to find out why energy is so important

What do you use energy for?On separate pieces of

paper write down of as

many things as you can

that you use energy for in

your life.

In your group see if you

can group them together

into categories e.g.

heating, communicating

Feedback to the class

What are the energy needs of people living in poverty?

In 2010 Practical Action

produced a report called the

Poor People Energy

Outlook One thing it did was

similar to what you have just

done, it grouped together

what energy is needed for by

people living in poverty.

http://practicalaction.org/ppeo2012

The report said poor people need energy for:

Lighting

Cooking and water

heating

Heating a space

Cooling

Information and

communication

Earning a living

Energy and the MDGs

In your groups see if you can match the MDG

goal logo with it’s meaning. Underneath write

what you think energy is needed for to reach this

goal e.g. match

Now think about what energy is needed for to improve maternal health. Use the categories from before to help you.You may have had:

• Lighting – light is needed in clinics to deliver babies safely at night

• Cooking and Water heating – for hot water

With ? Improved maternal health

A reminder of the problem

We know energy vital for poor people to

escape poverty and important if we want to

achieve the MDGs. The problem is right now, a

third of the world’s population has no access to

modern energy services.

1/3

33.3333 33%

So…to sum upEnergy is just about the most

important thing poor people

need to lift themselves out of

poverty.It follows that helping poor

people get energy is a must if

we hope to meet the MDGs - 8

goals set by the united nations

to reduce poverty massively

by 2030.2012 is the UN International Year of Sustainable Energy for All…spread the word!

Want to find out even more?www.practicalaction.org/geography-energy-and-sustainability

www.un.org/en/events/sustainableenergyforall