FAO statement at HLPF 2023 – SDGs in focus: SDG 7 and interlinkages with other SDGs - Affordable and clean energy

By 2050, feeding a global population of almost 10 billion will require a radical transformation in how food is produced, processed, traded and consumed. Access to energy for all, at every stage of agrifood system, is a critical dimension of this transformation.

Energy and agrifood systems are deeply intertwined: 30 percent of all energy is consumed within agrifood systems and 33 percent of emissions from agrifood systems are the result of energy use. Both systems must be transformed in a fair, sustainable, and inclusive manner to meet current and future needs.

Almost 70 percent of energy consumed by agrifood systems occurs in transport, processing, packaging, shipping, storage and marketing. With an estimated one-third of food lost or wasted during these processes, 38 percent of the energy used in the sector is equally wasted.