Affordable Clean Energy

Photo: High level participants and representatives from the least developed countries following the opening session of the Global Conference on Scaling-Up Energy Access and Finance in the Least Developed Countries on May 30. Credit: UN-OHRLLS.

Boosting Energy Access and Finance in Poorest Countries

Viewpoint by Youba Sokona

The following are extensive extracts from keynote remarks by Youba Sokona, South Centre's Senior Adviser on Sustainable Development, at the Global Conference on Scaling-up Energy Access and Finance in Least Developed Countries in Beijing, China. The United Nations Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) and the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO) organised the conference with the support of the UN system on May 30-31, 2019.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 09 June 2019

Photo: An electric vehicle and an antique car on display at a 1912 auto show in Toronto, Canada. Credit: William James. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

The Electric Vehicle Revolution Is Underway in Africa

By Giles Kirkland

An automotive expert and blogger, Giles Kirkland says he has a passion for new technologies.

LONDON (IDN) – In 2016, a businessman called Francis Romano imported an electric car Nissan Leaf to Nairobi, Kenya. However, the car was held up at the Customs for an intriguing reason: they had never seen an electric vehicle before! Fast-forward to today and Romano claims that the use of electric vehicles (EVs) has saved him a staggering 70 percent of fuel costs in his business.

: Europe Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 07 June 2019

2019] Photo: Mariam Kassim Salum charging her phone on a solar equipment at Kizimkazi village in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Courtesy: Barefoot College

Female Solar Engineers Light Up Remote Villages in Zanzibar

By Kizito Makoye

KENDWA, Tanzania (IDN) – As darkness falls, Natasha Mahmood and her brother huddle around the weak flame of a paraffin lamp, rushing to finish their homework before their mother blows it out to save fuel.

“I often try to get it done early. But that’s not always the case. My teacher sometimes punishes me for failing to complete my work," says Mahmood, as a trail of smoke from the lamp rises into a corrugated roof smirched with soot.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 06 June 2019

Supporting Local Energy Access Projects Across East Africa

By Radwan Jakeem

This article is part of reports by the UN SDG Media Compact of which IDN is a member.

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – UN Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly said that it is time to end the fallacy that subsidizing fossil fuels is a way to improve people’s lives, and has called for the private sector to support the climate agenda.

As an example of how business can support the UN’s climate agenda, Portugal-based utility company EDP (Energias de Portugal) has partnered with the UN-backed Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) initiative to fund sustainable and clean energy projects in east Africa, notably in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi.

: Jaya Ramachandran; THE WORLD; Africa; 29 May 2019

Photo (Screenshot): UN Secretary General António Guterres delivered remarks at the opening of Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on April 26. Credit: UN China/Zhao Yun

UN Chief Expects Belt and Road Initiative to Foster 'Inclusive, Sustainable and Durable' Development

By Sean Buchanan

LONDON (IDN) – China’s international trade and economic development plan – known as the Belt and Road Initiative – could contribute to a more equitable and prosperous world, and help reverse the negative impact of climate change, according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Addressing Chinese President Xi Jinping and dozens of other state leaders at the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on April 26, Guterres urged the international community to “come together” in mobilising resources to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and “stop runaway climate change.”

: Phil Harris; UN INSIDER; 26 April 2019

Photo: Atewa forest. Source: Save Atewa Forest

Bauxite Mining Threatens Ghana’s Crown Jewel of Biodiversity

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | ACCRA (IDN) – Environmental groups in Ghana are waging an eleventh-hour battle to stop the government of Ghana from opening the Atewa Forest Reserve – a crown jewel of biodiversity and a source of three rivers – to commercial large-scale bauxite mining.

Their resistance conforms to the Fourth United Nations Environment Assembly's resolution on mining resource governance in Nairobi from March 11-15. The resolution stresses in particular Sustainable Development Goal 7 calling for 'affordable and clean energy' and Goal 12 on 'responsible consumption and production', "reminding the important contribution of mining to their achievement".

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 02 April 2019

Photo: In a desert area located on the west coast of Australia. The lake looks pink because of Dunaliella. Credit: Midori Kurahashi.

The Biomass Shore Project – A Leading Model For Next-Generation Innovation

Viewpoint by Midori Kurahashi

The author is Project Associate Professor, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the University of Tokyo, Japan.

TOKYO (IDN) – Worldwide forest fires and the abnormal heat experienced last summer are still fresh in our memory. Many people throughout the world had a sense that some kind of unsettling change is happening. Even so, response is slow and measures are not being taken. One reason for this is that the world is driven by people who believe that the cost of stopping global warming is too great for the achieved effect.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 02 January 2019

Photo: Saudi National Atomic Energy Project SNAEP. Credit: KACARE

Ensuring Energy Sustainability for Future Generations in Saudi Arabia

By K A CARE

The following is sourced from the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy website.

RIYADH (IDN-INPS) – Saudi Arabia is a dynamic nation facing high rates of demand for energy and desalinated water as the nation’s population grows and the utilization of low-priced electricity and desalinated water accelerates.

According to government estimates, the anticipated demand for electricity in the Kingdom is expected to exceed 120 GW in 2032. Unless alternative energy and energy conservation measures are implemented, the overall demand for fossil fuels for power, industry, transportation and desalination is estimated to grow from 3.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2010 to 8.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2028.

: Africa & ME Editor; SYNDICATION; Research organisations; 30 November 2018

Photo: The new Evolutionary Pressurised Reactor, built by a Franco-German consortium, on Olkiluoto Island in southwestern Finland. It is expected to provide 10 per cent of Finland’s electricity when it becomes operational, probably in late 2018. Credit: S. Slavchev/IAEA

Finland Eyes Nuclear Power to Hit Climate Targets

By Jeffrey Donovan

The author is Press and Public Information Officer of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), based in Vienna. This article first appeared on the IAEA website on November 16, 2018.

VIENNA (IDN-INPS) – Along the pine-lined shores of Finland’s bucolic western coast, a clean energy vision of the Nordic country’s future is quietly taking shape. On the tiny island of Olkiluoto, workers are applying the finishing touches to a new Evolutionary Pressurised Reactor (EPR) set to supply 10% of Finland’s electricity needs. Like all nuclear power reactors, the massive 1600 MW unit will emit virtually no greenhouse gases (GHG) even as it churns out a steady stream of baseload electricity capable of providing power to millions of homes.

: Jaya Ramachandran; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 17 November 2018

Africa's High-Tech Path to Energy Inclusion

Viewpoint by Ben Good*

The author is CEO of Energy 4 Impact, a London-based non-profit organisation working with local businesses to extend access to energy in Africa, particularly East and West Africa.

LONDON (IDN) – Digital technologies are helping sub-Saharan African countries tap new sources of capital as they seek ways to close the energy access gap.

Last year, the Tanzania-based social enterprise Simusolar raised 50,000 dollars to finance its work selling solar powered systems to farmers and fishermen in rural areas traditionally excluded from mainstream energy provision.