Today, I'm honored
to introduce you to Randa. Randa is a remarkable woman that I have had the privilege
of getting to know. Randa is from Tambacounda,
which is a rural town in Senegal. Like me, Randa is a mother,
and has also been raised on a farm. Unlike me, and I suspect,
unlike all of you, Randa does not take her energy
supply for granted. When Randa comes home
after a hard day's work, she does not have the luxury
of flipping a switch to turn the lights on in her house. The stove that Randa uses
to cook meals for her family has not been seamlessly integrated
into the design of her kitchen. Instead, Randa spends
up to 10 hours every week collecting firewood just to meet the basic
needs of her family. When Randa and I were sharing
stories about our children, I was disheartened to hear from her

that the clinic at which she delivered
her four daughters and her two sons had no electricity. And the midwife that attended to her had to use a kerosene lamp
during her deliveries. Now, sadly, Randa's story is not unique. Randa's story mirrors the struggles of 2.4 billion people worldwide that are deprived of access to electricity
and to clean cooking fuels. This is what we refer to
as energy poverty. Energy poverty results in the deaths
of 3.2 million people every single year due to diseases caused by exposure
to indoor air pollution that disproportionately impacts
women and children. Now, what is also tragic is that after my 23 years of engagement in intergovernmental processes
at the United Nations, I continue to battle with the fact
that when we are not in the room, the harsh realities
of women's energy poverty are simply not prioritized
to the extent that they should be in the global political dialogue on sustainable development
and on climate change.

The mainstream narrative envisions a transition to net zero
carbon emissions by 2050, largely driven by the deployment
of large-scale renewable energy. This assumes that people already
have access to energy and simply need to shift to cleaner
and more sustainable alternatives. What it fails to acknowledge is that one in every three
individuals on our planet do not have access
to any form of modern energy. So the key challenge that we have and the key question is why is it that we fail to prioritize
women's energy poverty in developing countries and fail to recognize it
for the global crisis that it is? This is a question and this is an issue
that I have been grappling with for a long time. And I've come to the realization that one of the key reasons is that the energy sector
is male-dominated and marginally representative
of diverse and inclusive perspectives. Now, why do I say this? Research from the International
Energy Agency shows us that women account for only 15 percent

only 15 percent of the workforce
in the energy sector. And when it comes to leadership positions, women such as myself, that is, women of color,
are few and far between. We also know that gender-blind
energy policies also contribute to the failure of the prevailing narrative to recognize
that it's women like Randa, that are the cornerstones
and the agents of change to abolishing energy poverty. But here's the good news. A revolution is already underway. And this is a revolution
that is being spearheaded by women grassroots organizations. These are women grassroots
organizations that are being disruptive and are stepping up to lead the way from the current crisis to a sustainable energy future
that is more possible and even closer than many of us realize. These women grassroots organizations
embrace an approach that is referred to as leaving no one behind. That prioritizes universal access
to reliable, affordable, sustainable energy
as essential for livelihoods, for adaptation to climate change,
and for building resilience.

Now, what does this mean in practice? These initiatives are empowering women smallholder farmers, like Randa, with decentralized renewable energy technologies. These are technologies such as solar water pumps, mini-grids, clean cooking technologies that are equipping millions of women that, by the way, produce 80 percent of the food in developing countries, with clean energy to irrigate their crops, to process their farm produce, to power agriculture equipment, while at the same time enabling them to adapt to climate change crises such as water shortages, and also reduce their reliance on expensive diesel generators. Now, I'm immensely proud to say and to share with you that only in less than 10 years an example of three women-led organizations that is ENERGIA, my organization, Solar Sister, Frontier Markets have supported a cohort of 42,000 women entrepreneurs that are operating in underserved markets where commercial distribution networks are inadequate. These women entrepreneurs have already fueled their local economies.

in their communities by providing renewable energy services
to over 21 million consumers. (Applause) Now, this is testament
to the real-time impact and the tangible results
that are achievable when women organizations take the lead. For us at ENERGIA, addressing
this crisis and this challenge goes beyond providing energy services. A game-changer for us has been convening
the grassroots women that we collaborate with
into associations. One rural woman standing alone has limited opportunity
to change policies. But forming a group of 200 women who, by the way, are voters, leverages their collective agency
to engage in the formal economy but also to be present
in energy decision-making spaces that were previously closed to them. Together, this group of women
can articulate their own issues. They can articulate their own demands, they can advocate for themselves, and they can even influence
the political landscape, fostering national policies
and regulations that champion gender equality. Now, in order to scale up
these transformative impacts,

new pathways of financial support
that direct intentional investments, intentional investments,
to grassroots women's organizations are absolutely necessary. It is a scandal that currently, only six percent of climate
finance for energy goes to address energy poverty. I'm going to pause there
and let that sink in. Only six percent of climate finance goes to address this global crisis
of energy poverty. And a mere nine percent of climate sector development finance
is tagged for gender equality. Is this really the best that we can do
to engage women in the energy sector? My response is a clear no. Now, I'd like to ask you to join
me and imagine with me a transformative energy transition that measures success not only
by the supply of energy units, but rather by the significant strides
that we make on gender equality and social justice. The energy future that we should
all be moving towards is one that calls us to be collectively
responsible for ending energy poverty. It is about providing women
from developing countries

with the opportunities to claim
their power as leaders, as drivers of a just and inclusive
energy transition. For me, the call to action is clear. Let us all be the architects of change, shaping a future where no one is left in the dark, and where women are at the forefront
of a brighter, more sustainable world. Thank you. (Applause)

The Missing Piece of the Clean Energy Transition | Sheila Ngozi Oparaocha | TED

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