“Delivering efficient, clean energy to those who lack electricity is not as daunting as it sounds.” — Prof. Daniel M. Kammen, The World Bank Whether it was the topic at hand, or the possibility of catching a bite to eat, it was standing-room-only at a lunch-time panel last Monday at the UNDP offices in New York. On the agenda was how UN agencies and other development institutions plan to facilitate access to energy by 2030 for the 3 billion people worldwide who still lack electricity and clean cooking solutions. To kickstart this ambitious effort, the UN has declared 2012 the Continue reading
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Got a charcoal story to tell?
Do you live in a country where people rely on charcoal or woodfuel for cooking and heating? Are you seeing the impact of unsustainable charcoal production and woodfuel consumption? Maybe you see it in the degradation of the local environment? Or perhaps you see it in the growing price of woodfuel or even charcoal itself. Whatever the case, The Charcoal Project wants to know how the consumption of charcoal worldwide is having on impact on individuals, communities, natural habitats, and society at large. Thanks in advance for your help! — The Editors Continue reading
Top 10 things I learned at the PCIA forum in Lima
At the invitation of the government of Peru, the PCIA hosted its fifth biennial international forum outside the capital during the last week of February.
The Charcoal Project was especially thrilled to be able to speak with program managers, carbon finance experts, manufacturers, and policy-makers.
We learned many things after speaking and listening to so many people. What follows is a tiny sampling.
Lost Kittens, or, How Bollywood ate my traffic
Postcard from Digital Frontier I knew things had gone well for The Charcoal Project after attending the amazing PCIA conference in Lima last week. But I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of traffic we began receiving early Monday morning. What was it? Was it my presentation on our visionary Biomass Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) in Rubaare, Uganda? Was it our plan to organize an International Conference on Charcoal in Africa in 2012? Or maybe it was something more subtle… like the bar games and tricks I performed to a rapt audience at the chicken restaurant “Donde Walter.” Or, maybe, just Continue reading
IEA: Providing electricity and sustainable energy for all is within reach.
OPINION How many economists do you know that you can call a rock star or a superhero? In our books, Fatih Birol, Chief Economist at the IEA (International Energy Agency) is up there with Superman and Captain Planet. That’s because no economist out there has so tirelessly advocated for help for the 3 billion people who lack access to electricity or depend on wood, charcoal, and other solid biomass fuels for cooking and heating. In his most recent statement, Dr. Birol points out that it would take only about 3% of the projected global energy investment of over USD 26 Continue reading