Nuclear and the Environment

SDG 7 — Affordable and clean energy

The global energy target for 2030 — and where nuclear fits in.

7
ODS 7 • ONU
Energia limpa e acessível
91%
Acesso universal
% da pop. mundial com eletricidade (2021)
29%
Renováveis no mix
% da geração global elétrica (2023)
1.8%
Eficiência energética
melhoria anual média (meta: 2,6%)

Fonte: IEA / IRENA / Banco Mundial (2023). Para cumprir o ODS 7 até 2030, a expansão de fontes de baixo carbono — incluindo nuclear — precisa acelerar.

UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 7 seeks to ensure access to reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030.

The problem: more than 700 million people still have no access to electricity. And developing countries need economic growth — which requires energy. Many still depend on coal because it is cheap and reliable.

The energy transition must solve a paradox: deliver clean energy that is simultaneously affordable, continuous and scalable.

Nuclear fusion, if commercially viable between 2040 and 2050, would meet all those criteria: virtually inexhaustible fuel, zero operational emissions, and the ability to generate energy 24 hours a day, regardless of weather.

Source: KATOCH et al. "Fusion energy: a sustainable pathway to meeting future global energy demands". Springer, 2025.