ENERGY4EVERYONE: THE WORLD NEEDS ENERGY
In Canada, we take energy for granted. For most of us, the lights come on, the furnace provides heat, and we have fuel to drive our cars, buses and transport trucks with the flip of a switch or the turn of a key.
In some countries, however, it’s a different story. The lack of access to reliable energy – for light, heat and transportation – prevents people from attaining a higher quality of life. And without the energy they need, it is difficult for them to get an education, to acquire productive employment, and even to survive.
According to the United Nations, more than two billion people throughout the world do not have access to modern energy services and rely on wood, charcoal and animal waste as their principal sources of energy. Approximately 1.6 billion people live without electricity.
The UN and World Bank, among others, cite rural electrification as the form of energy delivery that will make the largest difference in the shortest period of time. The UN is focusing on energy delivery as a key strategy in achieving its Millennium Development Goals by 2015. These goals include cutting extreme poverty in half, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education.
How energy impacts life
The chart below shows that life expectancy, infant mortality, and adult literacy rates are all positively affected by the number of kilowatt hours that a person has access to each year*.
| Life Expectancy (years) | Infant Mortality (deaths per 1,000 live births) | Adult Literacy Rate (percent) | Kilowatt hours (annual per capita access) |
| 80 | 5 | 99 % | 16,000 kWh |
| 69 | 32 | 88 % | 2,000 kWh |
| 65 | 53 | 76 % | 1,000 kWh |
| 61 | 73 | 65 % | 500 kWh |
| 55 | 100 | 50 % | 200 kWh |
*The data are drawn from a number of sources: the CIA World Factbook (2005 to 2007); UN World Population Prospects (2004 revision for 2005 to 2007, and 2006 revision for 2005 to 2010); UN Human Development Report (2007/2008); UNESCO Institute for Statistics 2003; and “A Model for the Quality of Life as a Function of Electrical Energy Consumption,” Energy, Vol. 16, No. 4 by M.S. Alam, F.D. Bala, A.M.Z. Huo, and M.A. Matin.
