Climate change is likely to adversely affect the poorest people in the developing world. But solutions like REDD could end up hurting them as well.
Environment
The journey to sustainable solid biomass fuel production & consumption begins June 15th
On June 15th, representatives from new energy companies, climate finance, governments, development agencies, multi-lateral banks, and NGOs will meet in Arusha, Tanzania, to begin discussions on a blueprint that will make woodfuels, charcoal, and other solid biomass fuels a truly renewable energy choice for developing countries.
Photo essay: Of Haiti, charcoal, and energy poverty
We’ve focused before on Haiti‘s complete dependence on charcoal as a primary fuel and the impact this has had on the country’s environment.
The UK newspaper The Guardian recently ran a slideshow of powerful photos depicting aspects of the country’s charcoal trade.
The images are a profound reminder of the link between poverty, energy needs, and the environment.
UNEP: Unsustainable charcoal production & consumption threaten MDG achievements
We were very pleased to receive this morning a letter from the United Nations Environment Programme that recognizes the unsustainable nature of current levels of charcoal production and consumption in sub-Saharan Africa, and the threat this poses to the progress on the MDGs. The letter, signed by Mr. Mounkaila Goumandakoye, Director and Regional Representative of UNEP in Africa, also expresses the agency’s support for The Charcoal Project’s effort to organize the first International Conference on Charcoal, scheduled to take place in the first half of 2012 in Africa. Although we regret UNEP’s Executive Director, Achim Steiner, will not be able Continue reading
Foreign investment to protect Ghana forest not keeping up w destruction
NEWS: Indiscriminate felling of trees for firewood and charcoal to either sell or for domestic use is a routine for most locals in Ghana.
At the same time it’s a major contributing factor eating up the forests.
About 69 percent of all urban households use charcoal for cooking and heating and the annual per capita consumption is around 180 kg. The total annual consumption is about 700,000 tons, 30 percent of which is consumed in the capital Accra, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).