THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION
Rockefeller Foundation Green Power Gap: 8,700 Terawatt-Hours of Clean Energy Needed in 72 Countries, including 44 in Africa

Highlights

• Green Power Gap estimates the renewable energy capacity that must be generated by 2050 for these countries to meet both global development and climate goals
• Outlines four new pathways from energy poverty to close the gap for 3.8 billion people

The Rockefeller Foundation released a new report today (Aug 7) that calculates an 8,700 terawatt-hour (TWh) "Green Power Gap" across 72, more than half of which are in Africa and nearly a quarter in Asia. Currently home to 3.8 billion people, these 72 countries must deploy 8,700 TWh of clean power by 2050, which is approximately twice the United States' annual generation, in order to leapfrog from more traditional, costly, and inefficient power systems into a future of energy abundance. The Green Power Gap: Achieving an Energy Abundant Future for Everyone also identifies a green window of opportunity and sets out four new pathways to close the gap.

"The fate of 3.8 billion people's lives and the planet itself will depend on whether we can close the Green Power Gap," said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation. "History makes clear that people and countries will pursue opportunity regardless of the climate consequences. The only way to achieve the world's climate goals is scaling solutions and mobilizing the capital needed to ensure 3.8 billion people have enough clean electricity to lift up their lives and livelihoods."

The 72 countries analyzed in the report represent 68 that fall below the Modern Energy Minimum (MEM), which is defined as having an average annual per capita usage of less than 1,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) necessary to lift people out of poverty, create jobs, and drive economic development. The report also includes four additional countries* that have surpassed the MEM threshold but are included in the "energy-poor" category because significant proportions of their populations still live well below the MEM.

With only eight out of the 72 countries in Latin America & the Caribbean (Bolivia, El Salvador*, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and the Middle East (Syria and Yemen), Asia is home to 20 countries, and 44 are in Africa.

Click here to read the full press release.