Maimuna Mohd Sharif, former Executive Director of UN-Habitat, spoke at the D-8 High-Level Energy and Urban Dialogue during WUF13. She stated that approximately 675 million people worldwide lack access to electricity.
Currently, over 55% of the world's population lives in cities, a figure expected to reach 70% by 2050. Cities account for over 70% of global energy consumption and carbon emissions.
“The success of the energy transition hinges on cities. Technologies exist, but there is a disconnect between how we plan cities and how we build energy systems,” said Sharif.
Many who have electricity struggle with high costs. For rapidly developing regions like D8, this is both a technical and financial challenge.
