Towards a New Vision for SDG 7: Energy Intelligence as a Sovereign and Empowering Approach for Africa and the World

Dr. Jamila Morabit, a specialist in energy strategies and environmental sustainability, delivered a presentation titled “Smart Energy for All: Advancing SDG 7 through Energy Intelligence and South-South Cooperation – The Case of India and Africa,” during the activities of the UN Global Youth Conference on Sustainable Development Goals (UN GYCS25) on July 10, 2025. The presentation focused on Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7), which aims to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.” She emphasized that SDG 7 includes three main targets: ensuring universal access to affordable energy, increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix, and doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency.

Below is the full text of the intervention:

Towards a New Vision for SDG 7: Energy Intelligence as a Sovereign and Empowering Approach for Africa and the World

It is a great honor for me to speak before you today at this distinguished international conference, where we gather to strengthen a forward-looking vision rooted in the hope of sustainability and inclusive development, through the realization of Sustainable Development Goal 7: ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.

In a world facing recurring energy crises, accelerating climate change, and deepening economic and social inequalities, it is crucial to give this goal a broader dimension — one that goes beyond merely supplying energy, towards building a smart and sustainable energy system capable of promoting sovereignty, justice, and development.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA, 2024), nearly 770 million people still lack access to electricity, and over 2.4 billion people rely on unhealthy energy sources for cooking. These figures illustrate the magnitude of the challenge in achieving SDG 7.

I speak to you today not only as a researcher, but also as a strategic energy policy expert, deeply convinced that the achievement of SDG 7 requires the adoption of an integrated and transformative concept: Energy Intelligence.

This concept is not limited to technological innovation or energy efficiency; it is, more profoundly, a sovereign and developmental tool that empowers nations and communities to take control of their energy resources, ensure spatial equity, and enhance long-term energy security.

Traditionally, energy security has been understood as the uninterrupted availability of energy at an affordable price. However, in light of the current digital and technological transformations, this concept alone is no longer sufficient.

True energy security in our contemporary world must be integrated with Energy Intelligence, which combines digital governance, transparency, legal empowerment, and community participation.

This approach holds special significance for Africa, the continent I live in and serve. Despite its vast energy potential, Africa still suffers from a significant lack of access to modern energy, particularly in rural and vulnerable areas. According to the World Bank (2023), 43% of Sub-Saharan Africans still live without electricity.

Energy Intelligence is the key to initiating a deep transformation across the continent. With smart technologies, legal frameworks, and efficient governance, we can break down traditional barriers and enable women and youth to take on leadership roles in this vital sector.

In this context, I have developed a unique integrative framework that brings together the sovereign, legal, empowering, and environmentally digital dimensions of energy intelligence. Its aim is to support African states in achieving true and lasting energy sovereignty. This framework is more than just a model — it is a call for comprehensive transformation, liberation from technological and economic dependency, and a pathway to self-reliant development.

Looking at India, your great nation faces significant and diverse energy challenges — rising demand, the need for sustainable development, and the pursuit of energy justice between urban and rural areas. I see a genuine opportunity here for India to embrace the principles of Energy Intelligence as a core component of its national energy strategy. This would foster greater integration between digital transformation, energy policies, and community empowerment.

Adopting Energy Intelligence means more than enhancing efficiency. It means reimagining the human–energy relationship, where energy systems and networks become tools for community empowerment — enabling every individual, especially women and youth, to participate in decision-making and actively shape their energy future.

I would also like to emphasize the critical importance of energy justice — ensuring that clean, sustainable energy reaches every person, everywhere, without discrimination, and in a way that preserves the rights of future generations to a healthy environment.

Achieving such justice is a shared responsibility, requiring international coordination, knowledge exchange, and sustained technical and financial support.

In closing, I call upon all participants, international institutions, and governments to join forces — not only to realize SDG 7, but to develop a comprehensive framework that strengthens energy security, efficiency, and intelligence as interlinked pillars of a sustainable and equitable energy future.

This is a pivotal moment to affirm that clean energy is not a luxury, but a fundamental right and a pillar of global development and peace. As pioneers in this field, it is our duty to ensure that peoples and communities are empowered to manage their energy resources wisely and intelligently.