| Paris alignment | Reasoning |
| Paris Aligned | Energy access is identified as a priority area for the WBG within the Evolution Roadmap. This is further reflected by the highly ambitious 2030 universal energy access target, leadership of SE4ALL and a relatively (compared to other MDBs) high percentage of energy finance going towards energy access (23.8% over 2018–2021). The WBG allows the minimum definition of access to vary by context across its operations but has a minimum requirement for it to mean anything above tier 0. Beyond universal access by 2030, the Bank Group aims to provide new or improved access to electricity to 50–60 million people and access to clean cooking to 100 million people over FY22–25. While some aggregated progress monitoring and reporting takes place, the WBG could enhance granularity to become aligned with best practice across the board in its approach to energy access. |
| Alignment and reasoning | |
| Energy access target | Energy access is a clear target area for the WBG’s energy sector operations and is identified as one of the 8 priority challenges in the Evolution Roadmap that will be key to advancing the WBG’s new vision and mission. The Bank Group has notably made a commitment to supporting its clients in achieving universal energy access by 2030. Through its Energy Access Compact submission, the Bank Group committed to provide 50–60 million people with new or improved access to electricity and 100 million with access to clean cooking over FY22–25. |
| Minimum definition of access | The Multi-tier Framework (MTF) for energy access is a standard-setting methodological tool used by the WBG to define and measure access. The WBG allows the minimum definition of access to vary by context across its operations but has a minimum requirement for it to mean anything above tier 0. |
| % of energy financing dedicated to energy access | 23.9% of total energy financing for the period 2018–2021 was dedicated to energy access, representing an increase from the 15.4% dedicated for the period 2014–2017. |
| Is progress Monitored | The WBG does not undertake sufficiently granular monitoring of progress on energy access at the institutional level. The New Corporate Scorecard FY24–FY30 measures the millions of people provided with access to electricity but offers no detailed breakdown. This is established based on the number of people that have received new or improved electricity service. This one data point thereby includes estimates of direct access, inferred access, and improved service, covering the attributes of affordability, reliability, availability, and others as defined under the MTF, without making any distinction between them nor providing a full breakdown. |
| Progress against metrics | The Independent Evaluation Group noted energy access is only a small part of the energy portfolio and support for off grid electrification is relatively low. Another Independent According to the WBG scorecard, the Bank Group provided 492.2 million people with new or improved electricity service across FY19–FY22, averaging out to 123.05 million annually. The WBG acknowledges that at the current rate of progress, it will fail to attain the universal energy access by 2030 target. The Bank Group provides no public progress report with regards to its Energy Access Compact submission. |
Explanation
Energy access target and minimum definition of access
Energy Access is one of the eight priority challenges in the Evolution Roadmap, published in 2023, that will be key to advancing the WBG’s new vision and mission. Relatedly, the Bank Group is also developing a Global Challenge Program for Energy Access and Transition which will aim to provide access to electricity for 200 million people by 2030.1 The Bank Group also shares leadership of the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative with the UN and is committed to achieving SE4ALL’s goals. Accordingly, the WBG has committed to supporting its client countries in achieving universal energy access by 2030. In terms of interim targets, as part of its Energy Access Compact submission to the UN, the Bank Group also stated an aim to provide 50–60 million people with new or improved access to electricity, and 20–100 million people with access to clean cooking over FY22–25. The latter target was subsequently revised to 100 million following the Clean Cooking Fund’s (CCF) capitalisation.
In 2015, the WBG produced a landmark report setting out its Multi-tier Framework (MTF) for energy access. The report proposed an overall energy access index made up of separate indices across locales of energy use, namely: households, productive engagements, and community facilities. Each of these is in turn broken down into individual multi-tier matrixes defining six tiers of access (0 – 5) across relevant components of access. As an example, household electricity supply is determined by six tiers split across seven attributes: (1) peak capacity; (2) availability; (3) reliability; (4) quality; (5) affordability; (6) legality; and (7) health and safety.
A similar multi-tier matrix is set out for access to clean cooking solutions, made up of six tiers of access across the following attributes: (1) indoor air quality; (2) cookstove efficiency; (3) convenience; (4) safety of primary cookstove; (5) affordability; (6) quality of primary fuel; and (7) availability of primary fuel.
The WBG allows the minimum definition of access to vary by context across its operations, with the MTF providing flexibility for governments to set targets based on a country’s situation, development status, population needs, and available budget. In all cases, this must be defined above tier 0, effectively rendering tier 1 as the minimum definition of access employed by the Bank Group across all operations. However, when providing energy access data across countries as part of its Global Electrification Database, access is not clearly defined with any reference to the MTF.
Energy access progress
At the institutional level, the WBG’s previous annual corporate scorecard included a metric for “people provided with new or improved electricity service”. Compared with a baseline value of 133.7 million people in 2018, the cumulative results provided for FY19–FY22 were 492.2 million, averaging out to 123.05 million people annually for this period. The New Corporate Scorecard FY24–FY30 includes the same metric for “people provided with new or improved electricity service”. Neither the previous nor new corporate scorecard have included a metric specifically for access to clean cooking.
The Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) is the flagship WBG partnership (with donor countries) to deliver on its energy access commitments, as well as more broadly on energy transition. ESMAP’s business plan is driven by the twin objectives of universal energy access by 2030, and decarbonisation. Through initiatives such as the Global Facility on Mini-Grids, ESMAP provides technical assistance, analysis, and policy support to complement WBG finance and operations. Despite progress, ESMAP’s 2021–2024 Business Plan estimates that in a business-as-usual scenario, 650 million people will remain without electricity in 2030 (well below the target of universal access).
ESMAP’s business plan includes a results framework with targets designed to ensure WBG supported countries are on track to universal access by 2030. As part of this, there is a target to have secured electricity access (determined by coverage of specific strategies, programmes and plans, with specific access targets, financing plans and implementation schedules by 2030) for 500 million people (or 125 million annually) by the end of 2024, so as to remain on track to universal access by 2030. This is to be achieved through the mobilisation of USD 30 billion in electricity access financing through IDA, IBRD, associated partner programs, and the private sector (from which USD 10 billion is expected).
Accompanying ESMAP’s 2021–2024 business plan is an online impact dashboard tracking progress towards achieving the commitments of the results framework. As of FY24, 101.5 million people have been provided with access to electricity through WB lending operations. The finance mobilised for energy access in this initial reporting period is on track to exceed the target of the results framework, with USD 19.4 billion in WBG finance informed by ESMAP and a further USD 7.6 billion in external financing (including private sector) mobilised. There is no dedicated tracker for the Bank Group’s commitments made in the context of the Energy Access Compact, and it is therefore not possible to gauge progress in this respect, especially with regard to access to clean cooking.
In terms of dedicated initiatives, the Bank Group’s new Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT) Program is an example of a platform approach that pools knowledge and resources from across the Bank Group and public and private partners. The programme aims to bring energy access to 100 million people in up to 20 countries.
Recommendations:
- The WBG should enhance its monitoring and reporting mechanisms for energy access by disaggregating the existing “millions of people provided with access to electricity” impact indicator. This would enable more precise monitoring, better targeted interventions, and improved transparency on energy access progress. This could involve breaking down data to:
- Direct vs. Inferred Access: Provide disaggregated estimates for the number of people directly supplied with electricity access, and those likely to have benefited indirectly from investments increasing the availability of electricity in the grid
- Quality of Access: Provide a detailed breakdown of access levels, focusing on critical attributes such as affordability, reliability, availability, and sustainability, in alignment with the Multi-Tier Framework (MTF).
- New vs. Improved Service: Differentiate between people receiving new electricity connections and those benefiting from improved services, highlighting the specific improvements (e.g., higher reliability or increased availability).
- The WBG should integrate an indicator for supporting access to clean cooking within its New Corporate Scorecard FY24–FY30.
1 In line with achieving this goal, the WBG has also established the “Mission 300” partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and others, to connect 300 million people to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.