Effect of the COVID-19 on access to affordable and clean energy

The United Nations General Assembly provided an agenda in the form of 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) aimed at following a sustainable approach that would benefit humanity and the environment. The set targets of SDGs were to be fulfilled by 2030; however, the progress toward achieving these goals was not on track to meet the goals. In addition to the slow progress, the world was faced with COVID-19 pandemic causing an unprecedented social and economic crisis. The pandemic has undermined decades of progress toward achievement of SDGs and has adversely impacted all spheres of life. During the pandemic, the world witnessed a significant decrease in the energy demand owing to restrictions in activities causing a plunge in the oil and gas sector while the renewable energy sector remained resilient. However, the pandemic also highlighted the technical challenges and problems such as energy demand and consumption variation, market reliability to name a few. Thus the postpandemic scenario should prioritize sustainable approach that would benefit human and our ecosystem so as to overcome the aftereffect of the pandemic. The present chapter encompasses the importance of SDG7, its progress during pre-COVID-19 era, and the implication of the pandemic in the energy sector. The chapter also highlights on the sustainability of energy during the pandemic and the challenges confronted by the energy sector.