Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called today for a “clean energy revolution” to help the estimated three billion people that lack modern power and urged countries to recognize the impact that energy security has on all aspects of development.
Energy Poverty
Wood Energy in Africa: the next gold rush?
Recent news out of Uganda about the displacement of tens of thousands of people from their land to make way for a large-scale biofuel plantations raises question about governmental oversight and corporate social responsibility on the part of of foreign investors.
It is all the more urgent that African nations, with the help of appropriate international agencies, begin putting place the regulatory framework that will lead to the responsible and sustainable exploitation of wood energy resources in the context of low-carbon economic growth and high-value export generation.
The black sheep in Africa’s renewable energy family
Absent in the majority of the speeches we heard at last week’s summit of African Energy Ministers in Johannesburg were references to biomass, either as a renewable fuel with the potential to deliver significant energy for economic growth, or for its contribution to sub-Saharan Africa’s energy balance.
NEWS: Uganda flirting with charcoal energy crisis
We’re in Johannesburg this week to present a vision of hope to Africa’s Energy Minister, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa with populations that depend heavily on unsustainable charcoal production and consumption.
VIDEO: The charcoal problem in Tanzania compellingly explained
Dar es Salaam consumes the equivalent of 16 olympic pools in charcoal every day. This figure is increasing daily as rural populations migrate to urban centers. At $350 million per year, charcoal is big business, too.
This great video produced by the World Bank last year (2010) lays out the issue in a way that is well-documented and visually compelling.