Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all A/RES/73/236 Emphasizing that universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all is an integral part of poverty eradication and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and that the increased use and promotion of new and renewable energy, including in off-grid and decentralized systems, and energy efficiency could make a significant contribution in that regard, Deeply concerned that nearly 2.7 billion people in developing countries, especially in rural areas, rely on traditional biomass, coal and kerosene for cooking and heating, with disproportionate health and workload impacts on women and children, including an estimated 3.8 million deaths annually, that close to 1 billion people are without access to electricity, that Africa accounts for more than half of both access figures and that, even when energy services are available, millions of poor people are unable to pay for them, Noting with concern that energy represents less than 1 per cent of overall United Nations expenditure on the Sustainable Develop ment Goals, despite its critical importance also in achieving other goals, Expressing concern that, at current rates of progress, none of the global energy targets of the Sustainable Development Goals will be achieved by 2030, Emphasizing the critical socioeconomic benefits of affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy and the need to reframe the understanding of energy from a technical unit to a requirement for basic social services, economic development and poverty eradication, Highlighting the importance of the empowerment of developing countries to achieve universal access through the rapid expansion of affordable sustainable energy worldwide, Recognizing that each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development and that this will include the mobilization of financial resources, as well as capacity-building and the transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed, Welcoming the significant reductions in the cost of renewable energy, the sector’s net positive job contributions and the rapid expansion of renewable energy capacity additions, which are now greater than those of other reso urces in the electricity sector, and noting that the levelized cost of solar and wind energy in many regions of the world is fully competitive with traditional energy resources, Taking note of the work of multi-stakeholder partnerships, including Sustainable Energy for All, which has given strong momentum to the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency, the initiatives of the Global Climate Action Agenda, the Small Island Developing States Lighthouses Initiative, SIDS DOCK, the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation and others that can contribute to reaching the objective of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, Noting with appreciation the work of the International Renewable Energy Agency, which facilitates the widespread and increased adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, Noting with appreciation also that the transformation of the world’s energy systems is being accelerated by advances in technology, rapid declines in the cost of renewable energy, the deployment of least-cost decentralized solutions, policy support, new business models and the sharing of best practices, welcoming the establishment of the International Solar Alliance as an international or ganization, and noting the continuing work of the International Renewable Energy Agency, 18-22559 3/8