The Charcoal Project

At last. The moment you’ve all been waiting for: a reality show about clean cookstoves!

There’s no shortage of reality-inspired cooking shows in which participants struggle against long odds.

Now there’s a new offering, with a difference. It’s Stoveman, a four-part video series documenting the efforts of two young men who are part of a “low profit” business aimed at providing efficient rocket stoves to poor households in struggling places.

(taken from Andy Revkin, Dot Earth. The New York Times)

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NEWS: Tanzania’s burning question: Can REDD succeed amid a charcoal addiction?

Policy discussions around forests and climate change frequently refer to charcoal production as one of the main culprits of deforestation and forest carbon emissions. This is explicitly articulated in the Tanzanian Draft National Strategy for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) published in January 2011. Future “business as usual” scenarios predict a worsening of the situation.

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African economies leaving money on the table with current charcoal policies.

Revelations from Africa:

  • Africa must formally recognize its huge charcoal sector.
  • Solid biomass fuels could very well be the continents key to producing. homegrown sustainable renewable fuels for domestic and productive energy.
  • The negative impact of sky-rocketing food prices on education.
  • Energy efficiency and renewables can mitigate the pain of rising food costs.

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Yo! Developing nations! Cut the red tape on clean energy investments.

Developing countries must cut the red tape and build capacity if they want a slice of the quarter billion dollar investments that clean energy attracted last year. That, in a nutshell, is the message contained in a UNDP report that shows that 90% of $243 billion invested in 2010 went to G-20 countries (which include China and India). Shaping policies, creating economic incentives, identifying technology, and building domestic capacity for solid biomass fuel efficiency will be hot topics of discussion at the upcoming Symposium & Workshop on Charcoal to be held in Arusha, Tanzania, on June 15th. The event, part Continue reading

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.

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