Energy is key to global development but the world’s poorest nations fare up to six times worse than their more industrialised counterparts when it comes to accessing the vital resource, the UN warned on Wednesday.

In a report on 47 Least Developed Countries (LDC), the UN trade and development arm UNCTAD said that only four of them were on course to achieve internationally agreed targets on energy distribution by 2030.

On a more positive note, UNCTAD’s Paul Akiwumi told Daniel Johnson that start-up renewable energy initiatives financed by private investment were helping to provide alternatives to traditional power infrastructure projects which backers are often reluctant to support.

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