Addressing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions without improving energy efficiency would worsen energy poverty. The region achieved 98% access to clean fuels and technology for cooking in 2014, up from 95% in 2000, but 23.3 million people in remote regions still relied on traditional fuels for cooking in 2014. The growth rate from 2012-14 was -2.0% per annum, almost equal to the global rate of-2.1 %. Decomposition analysis shows that changes in energy intensity since 1990 result from decoupling energy consumption from economic growth through efficiency gains.