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