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PEOPLE AT THE HEART OF CLIMATE CHANGE the commission can contribute, accelerate, and facilitate the clean energy transition at both the European and global level. One of the advisors’ key recommendations was that a sustainable and fair transition to a climate-neutral energy system requires not only innovative technologies, but also a people-centric approach that actively involves all participants in the energy environment. SDG7 aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. This goal has strong interlinkages with all other SDGs, which highlights that decisive action on sustainable energy can catalyze progress towards all the goals, including global climate protection targets. In a recent study, IIASA researchers analyzed how access to energy services may evolve over time under different scenarios of socioeconomic growth and policy scenarios that meet climate mitigation goals. “We wanted to determine how access to energy services across households differs under different scenarios, which energy services are prioritized by households, and how climate policy scenarios may affect those choices,” explains study lead author and IIASA researcher Miguel Poblete-Cazenave. The researchers found that scenarios where ambitious climate targets are achieved do not significantly alter access to energy services in, for instance, the Global South, as households in this region suffer from heavier affordability constraints, regardless of the effects of climate policies. “Our results confirm that achieving climate goals is not at odds with achieving universal access to modern electricity services for populations in regions that currently lack access, but vast inequalities in electricity use will persist,” notes Transformative Institutional and Social Solutions Research Group Leader, Shonali Pachauri, a study coauthor. In a separate study, IIASA authors also showed that the amount of energy needed for decent living worldwide is less than half of the total final energy demand projected under most future pathways that keep global warming below 1.5°C. “For most countries, especially poor countries in Africa, unprecedented growth in energy use, as well as more equitably distributed growth are essential to achieving decent living standards before mid-century,” says Jarmo Kikstra, lead author of the study. “Therefore, the biggest challenge for policymakers will be to achieve an equitable distribution of energy access worldwide, which is currently still out of reach.” THE FUTURE IS IN OUR HANDS We can still do something about climate change, but we are running out of time. With every passing year of inaction, the emissions cuts needed to limit global warming to relatively safe levels grow steeper and steeper. It is up to us. We need to secure a climate neutral future that ensures that the most vulnerable among us are shielded, and the most deprived are assured equitable access to the services many enjoy. Further information: www.iiasa.ac.at/20-climate-population www.iiasa.ac.at/21-eu-energy pure.iiasa.ac.at/17186 pure.iiasa.ac.at/17273 pure.iiasa.ac.at/17119 pure.iiasa.ac.at/16457 pure.iiasa.ac.at/17402 Stefan Hochrainer-Stigler hochrain@iiasa.ac.at Jarmo Kikstra kikstra@iiasa.ac.at Reinhard Mechler mechler@iiasa.ac.at Raya Muttarak muttarak@iiasa.ac.at Nebojsa Nakicenovic naki@iiasa.ac.at Shonali Pachauri pachauri@iiasa.ac.at Miguel Poblete-Cazenave poblete@iiasa.ac.at 15Optionswww.iiasa.ac.at Winter 2021