Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy (RISE) 2024 : The Time is Now

Since the publication of the previous (2022) RISE edition, progress toward universal electrification reversed course for the first time in 20 years. About 685 million people, most of them living in Sub-Saharan Africa, lacked access in 2022. While RISE electricity access scores climbed in many countries between 2021 and 2023, progress in fragile states stalled due to structural barriers and instability. Most countries with substantial unelectrified populations have high RISE scores, but this has not translated into significant electrification gains, because access requires more than sound policies. Expanding access requires capacity for implementation, together with efforts to address barriers to affordability and financing, and challenging environments for doing business. With just five years left to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), moving beyond strong RISE scores to expand actual electricity access is more urgent than ever. Clean cooking policy and regulatory frameworks saw modest progress between 2021 and 2023. Many countries showed minimal changes, while any improvements were slow and uneven. More than half of surveyed countries remain in the red zone, underscoring the need for stronger frameworks, targeted financial interventions, and greater international collaboration to scale clean cooking solutions.