By Bernhard Schell DUBAI, United Arab Emirates | 28 January 2024 (IDN) — The lead global intergovernmental agency for energy transformation, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which supports countries in their energy transitions, and provides state-of-the-art data and analyses on technology, innovation, policy, finance and investment, marked its 15th anniversary on 26 January. The […]
Zimbabwe & Ethiopia Sign Nuclear Energy Cooperation Agreements with Russia
By World Nuclear News BERLIN. 30 July 2023 (IDN) — Two more countries, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, have signed agreements with Russia to cooperate on the peaceful use of nuclear technology on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum in St Petersburg. The intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Zimbabwe—which follows a memorandum of understanding […]
Renewable Energy Can Sustain Growth in ‘Emerging Asia’
By Krishan Dutt | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis
KUALA LUMPUR (IDN) – The need for sustainable development, aligning multiple economic and environmental priorities, stressed by the leaders of the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies, in their Manila declaration on November 19, has been reiterated in a new report that forecasts a robust growth for ‘Emerging Asia’ in 2015 and in the next five years.
Balancing Water And Energy Needs
By Bernhard Schell | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
ABU DHABI (IDN) – Water is critical for producing power and the treatment and transport of water requires energy, mainly in the form of electricity. Even though the interdependency between water and energy is gaining wider recognition worldwide, water and energy planning often remain distinct. The tradeoffs involved in balancing one need against the other in this “energy-water nexus,” as it is called, are often not clearly identified or taken into account, complicating possible solutions, says Diego Rodriguez, a senior World Bank expert.
In 2013 alone, water shortages shut down thermal power plants in India, decreased energy production in power plants in the United States and threatened hydropower generation in many countries, including Sri Lanka, China and Brazil.
Huge Global Post-Harvest Losses Are Avoidable
By Bruce H. Rubin* | IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint
LANSDALE, Pennsylvania (IDN) – In today’s world of growing populations and food needs, we are revisiting, with respect to agriculture, the old adage “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.” However, too often in the developing world, we are letting the newly-educated man down by not providing him with infrastructure needed to save, sell, or transport what he grows.
India, Africa, Latin America and other developing regions continue to face crippling hunger and poverty rates. Despite the consistent production of agricultural products, the post-harvest loss rate for fruits and vegetables hovers around 40% and has remained there for years, undermining the ability of local farmers to feed their countrymen and develop exports. The total spoilage of post-harvest loss hovers around 1.3 billion tons.
Renewable Energy Can Pave the Path to Peace
By Hélène Connor-Lajambe* | IDN-InDepth NewsViewpoint
PARIS – The United Nations and other world agencies are geographically global in scope, but seldom seem able to work together on the same issue, however crucial it is, even when deep misery or armed conflicts ensue.
Climate change is the best example of the silo mentality within our highest institutions and most of our societies. It is only lately, for instance, that the World Bank has started to reconsider its funding of coal plants, and the International Energy Agency is at last making waves as it promotes energy efficiency while other agencies are still pushing the search for more oil reserves.
No More U.S. Money For Overseas Coal Plants
By Athena Ballesteros of World Resources Institute
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued on October 29, 2013 a policy document ending Washington’s support for multilateral development bank (MDB) funding for new overseas coal projects except in narrowly defined circumstances. Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs Lael Brainard explained: “By encouraging the use of clean energy in multilateral development bank projects, we are furthering U.S. efforts to address the urgent challenges of climate change.” World Resources Institute’s Project Manager of International Financial Flows and Environment Project, Athena Ballesteros, analyses the significance of the initiative in a blog.
Nuclear Plants To Power Sustainable Development
By Richard Johnson | IDN-InDepth NewsReport
MOSCOW (IDN) – Forgotten is the shock and despair triggered by the Fukushima power plant disaster about two years ago. Nuclear power is here to stay. In fact, according to a consensus emerging from an international conference, “for many countries nuclear power is a proven, clean, safe, and economical technology that will play an increasingly important role in achieving energy security and sustainable development goals in the 21st century”.
Conference Urges Enhanced Nuclear Safety
By J C Suresh | IDN-InDepth NewsReport
OTTAWA (IDN) – Experts from more than 50 nuclear and non-nuclear countries have stressed the need for enhancing safety and security culture with a view to preventing the occurrence and minimizing the consequences of accidents in nuclear power plants. The call emerged from a four-day conference hosted by the Canadian government in Ottawa.
This was the third international conference of its kind organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since the first such gathering held in Moscow in 2006, followed by the second 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa. The next International Regulatory Conference will take place in 2016 and will be hosted by the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) at a location yet to be determined.
Nuclear Energy Far From Extinct
By Richard Johnson | IDN-InDepth NewsReport
LONDON (IDN) – While Japan’s reactors remain vulnerable two years after Fukushima disaster, more than 45 countries, ranging from sophisticated economies to developing nations are reported to be actively considering embarking upon nuclear power programs, The front runners after Iran are said to be UAE, Turkey, Vietnam, Belarus, Poland and Jordan.