What does it mean to live in 'energy poverty'?
For 2.7 billion people in developing countries, it means relying on physical labour by people or animals to get things done, and using wood fires for cooking and heating.
In emerging economies, it means trying to run businesses, hospitals, universities and everything else never really known whether the power will stay on - and therefore having back-ups, like diesel generators, flashlights and lots of spare batteries on hand. Unreliable energy affects about 600 million people globally.
Across Europe and North America, the problem is more that energy has become unaffordable - often because houses and apartments are poorly made and drive up energy bills beyond what people can reasonably handle. As a result, more than 100 million people leave in unhealthy conditions.
In all contexts, women suffer the greatest impacts and thus warrant special attention through empowering initiatives.
Follow The Energy Action Project (EnAct) as we bring together energy experts and journalists to explore the causes and impacts of energy poverty, as well as the solutions that will support universal access to sustainable energy.