Affordable Clean Energy

Photo: Damilola Ogunbiyi. Credit: UNDESA.

Achieving SDG7 Will Put Us on A Pathway to Net-Zero

Viewpoint by Damilola Ogunbiyi

The writer is CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and Co-Chair of UN-Energy.

VIENNA (IDN | UNDESA) — The energy transition story is a story of energy access. I’ve often said this, and it’s worth repeating. The climate crisis and the energy access crisis are intrinsically linked. The billions of people who lack access to safe, clean, and reliable electricity and cooking fuels are forced to rely on polluting means to go about their daily lives.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 02 September 2021

Photo: Alok Sharma, President of COP 26 Climate Conference. Credit: UNDESA.

Together, We Can Change the Way We Power the World

Viewpoint by Alok Sharma, President of COP 26 Climate Conference

LONDON (IDN | UNDESA) — Solar changed Neville’s life. I saw this for myself when, as UK Secretary of State for International Development, I visited his home in Kenya, and he told me how off-grid solar power was helping him to study for his degree.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 01 September 2021

Photo: The Russian President Vladimir Putin (second from left) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (third from right) at the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi Summit in 2019. Credit: Sochi Summit

Tales of Egypt's Quest for Russian Nuclear Power

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) — It was a highly unique step forward in October 2019, when during the first Russia-Africa Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi reaffirmed commitment to scale-up cooperation in various economic sectors and particularly expedite work on the special industrial zone and the construction of proposed four nuclear power plants, raising hopes for an increased power supply in Egypt.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 21 August 2021

Photo: Ms. Shefali Ghosh from Savar, near Dhaka, teaches her daugher in the kitchen. Credit: The World Bank

Affordable Clean Cooking Technology Important To Achieving Sustainable Energy Access

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) — In the Asia-Pacific region which is home to about 60 percent of the global population, some 1.6 billion people primarily rely on open fires or simple stoves fueled by kerosene, coal, or biomass such as wood, dung and agricultural residues for their daily cooking needs, that impacts on climatic change and health hazards.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 07 August 2021

Photo: Olkaria geothermal complex and power station, the first geothermal power plant in Africa located in Nairobi, Kenya.

Energy Will Play a Critical Role in The Success of Africa’s Free Trade Area

Africa Renewal's Managing Editor Kingsley Ighobor talks to Damilola Ogunbiyi

NEW YORK (IDN | Africa Renewal) — Damilola Ogunbiyi is the CEO of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All. On the sidelines of the UN High-Level Political Forum from July 6 to 15 in New York, Ms. Ogunbiyi spoke to Africa Renewal’s Kingsley Ighobor on a range of issues, including how to tackle energy poverty in Africa. Here are the excerpts:

: Africa Renewal; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 04 August 2021

Photo: Dr. Kakha Shengelia, President of IAUP and Caucasus University.

The Role of Academia and Universities in Fostering Awareness of SDGs

Viewpoint by Dr. Kakha Shengelia

The writer is President of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) and President of Caucasus University (CU). The following is the text of Dr Kakha's Foreword to Striving for People, Planet and Peace, 2021 Joint Media Project Report of the Non-Profit International Press Syndicate Group with IDN as flagship agency in partnership with Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with ECOSOC.

TBILISI, Georgia (IDN) — It was in the year 2015 when the world convened and defined 17 concrete objectives to achieve till 2030 that would improve everyone’s lot around the globe. Touching on every aspect of human existence, from social inequalities to the planet we live on.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 June 2021

Photo: The World Bank praised reported about "the secret to Côte d’Ivoire’s electric success" focusing on the Azito Thermal Power Plant, built in 1998. © Erick Kaglan, World Bank.

Declining Power Supply Cripples Ivory Coast and Ghana Cocoa Economies

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — A prolonged dry season is being blamed for inadequate power supplies to West African countries from Ivory Coast to Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso, threatening businesses and the world’s largest cocoa economies.

Consumers, unions and business leaders in Ivory Coast are sounding the alarm about waves of blackouts that are hitting major cities, including the economic capital Abidjan and its five million residents.

: THE WORLD; Africa; 18 May 2021

Photo credit: Pexels | Harry Cunningham @harry.digital

Renewables Are the Building Blocks of Global Energy Transition

By J W Jackie

RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) — The latest International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA analysis reveals that by 2050, variable renewables like wind and solar PV will dominate the global total power supply. The insights from IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook were released on March 16-17, 2021, at the Berlin Energy Transitions Dialogue.

With 163 Members, IRENA plays a leading role in the energy transformation as a centre of excellence for knowledge and innovation, a global voice for renewables, a network hub and a source of advice and support for countries.

: Europe Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 08 May 2021

Photo: Ukrainian National Chornobyl Museum resembling the reactor that suffered the catastrophic failure (reactor core surrounded by blue). CC BY 2.0

Chernobyl Anniversary Underscores the Need for Safeguards Against Nuclear Accidents

Viewpoint by Sugeeswara Senadhira

The writer is Director (International Media), Presidential Secretariat, Colombo. This article was first published on April 26. It is being re-published with Mr Senadhira's permission.

COLOMBO (IDN) — Exactly 35 years ago, on April 26, 1986, the biggest nuclear accident in history took place at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, killing dozens of people and making hundreds of people victims of Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS). Later, the disaster was attributed to a flawed Soviet reactor design coupled with serious mistakes made by the plant operators. It was a direct consequence of Cold War isolation and the resulting lack of any safety culture in the erstwhile Soviet Union.

: Asia Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 28 April 2021

Photo: Dr Wim Naudé, Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics with the Cork University Business School in Ireland with the image of AfCFTA from African Union website.

African Free Trade Area Expected to Lift Millions out of Extreme Poverty and Boost Growth

By Busani Bafana

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (IDN) — The long-awaited African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)—set to be the world’s biggest free trade zone by size—which entered into force on January 1, 2021, promises a new era for African trade.

An Africa-wide free-trade pact could bolster the region’s income by $450 billion and lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty by 2035, if accompanied by significant policy reforms and trade-facilitation measures, according to the World Bank. When fully operational, the Free Trade area will create a market of 1.2 billion and drive a combined GDP of $2.5 trillion.