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March 2010

Valuing global biomass fuel consumption

We recently announced The Charcoal Project’s intention to help quantify the cost to society of current levels and practices of biomass consumption in the developing world.

Once we discover the direct and indirect costs of “business as usual”, we can then figure out the cost-benefit of pushing for the large-scale adoption of energy efficiency technology and policies.

Starting today you will find a section titled Biomass in Numbers on the right-hand column. Here you will find blurbs and links to information that will help us better understand the true cost of energy poverty.

Valuing global biomass fuel consumption Read More »

World’s Pall of Black Carbon Can Be Eased With New Stoves

by Jon R. Luoma for Yale360

Two billion people worldwide do their cooking on open fires, producing sooty pollution that shortens millions of lives and exacerbates global warming. If widely adopted, a new generation of inexpensive, durable cook stoves could go a long way toward alleviating this problem.

With a single, concerted initiative, says Lakshman Guruswami, the world could save millions of people in poor nations from respiratory ailments and early death, while dealing a big blow to global warming — and all at a surprisingly small cost.

World’s Pall of Black Carbon Can Be Eased With New Stoves Read More »

TCP to sponsor cost-benefit review of global biomass dependence

While much attention has been paid to the social and economic impact of Indoor Air Pollution (IAP), we feel strongly that compiling more comprehensive data on the environmental costs (including Climate Change, loss of ecosystem services, etc.), and impacts on labor productivity and poverty alleviation would help establish the baseline necessary from which to begin a comprehensive review of current policies and cost-benefit analysis of energy-efficiency promotion on a global scale.

TCP to sponsor cost-benefit review of global biomass dependence Read More »

It’s official: black carbon declared gaseosa non-grata

It seems like (BC) (aka soot or particulate matter), is finally being recognized as one of the top worst greenhouse gas offenders.

Regardless of whether you think it contributes 20 or 50 percent of climate warming “radiative forcing,”  Congressional hearings held earlier this week in Washington have ensured that this byproduct of biomass and fossil fuel combustion will forever live in infamy.

This erstwhile symbol of the industrial revolution has been definitely declared gaseosa non-grata.

Black Carbon can refocus attention where it’s most needed

BC’s  new-found notoriety, may be one of the best things to happen to the biomass & bioenergy community.

That’s because international public opinion — especially those on the forefront of the fight against climate change — will hopefully now turn their attention on this villain — along with their principal emitters: the energy poor who depend on biomass as their primary source of energy.

It’s official: black carbon declared gaseosa non-grata Read More »

Time for action on black carbon, US Congress warned

[USAID/IAP Updates] Black carbon soot, produced from incomplete combustion of diesel fuel and biomass, is one of the largest contributors to climate change apart from CO2 and should be a prime target of policymakers according to scientists and experts testifying at a hearing Tuesday of the US House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

“Black carbon packs a powerful punch when it comes to climate change, absorbing solar radiation while in the atmosphere and also darkening the surfaces of snow and ice, contributing to increased melting in vulnerable regions such as the Arctic and Himalayas,” said Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD). “The good news is that it only stays in the atmosphere for up to a few weeks, making it an ideal target for achieving fast cooling through aggressive mitigation measures.”


Time for action on black carbon, US Congress warned Read More »

World needs a Nick Stern report on energy poverty

OPINION

How much does energy poverty cost?

How much is lost in productivity by societies dependent on traditional biomass fuel?

What is the monetary value of global deforestation for biomass fuel use?

What is the cost (in CO2-equivalent) of the volumes of black carbon being pumped into the atmosphere?

What percentage of national budgets go to treat illnesses attributable to indoor air pollution from inefficient biomass combustion?

How much potential income is lost from the estimated 1,500,000 people who die annually as a consequence of exposure to indoor air pollution?

World needs a Nick Stern report on energy poverty Read More »

Women Key to Reduce Impact of Climate Change in Nigeria

Gifted with huge reserves of oil and gas, Nigeria is today one of the fastest growing economies in the world.  But despite its natural wealth, the country is struggling to provide basic energy for its own citizens, two-thirds of whom currently live on less than a dollar a day.

In this story, a non-profit makes the case that, sometimes, a more “modern” fuel can play an important role in helping meet a country’s specific energy development goals.

Women Key to Reduce Impact of Climate Change in Nigeria Read More »

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