So what is this thing they call biochar, you ask?
It’s been described as the Swiss Army knife, or the “killer app” of climate solutions.
Now, leaders of the G20 have a chance to put it on the map!
Hey, World Leader, how about a side of biochar to go with your next meeting? Read More »
One of the startling facts I refer to when discussing the dire biomass situation facing a number of Sub-Saharan countries is Uganda’s announcement last year that the country is set to run out of woodfuel by the end of the decade.
It looks like someone in Germany thinks Uganda’s situation is dire enough.
Take that Greece!
Germany investing in Uganda renewables, including biomass Read More »
By Matthew Berger / WASHINGTON, Apr 26, 2010 (IPS). Against the backdrop of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings this weekend, numerous groups have chimed in on the need for and direction of a new World Bank energy strategy. (…) The new energy strategy will try to bridge the dangerous gap between increasing energy access and not exacerbating the effects of climate change. As such, energy likely represents one of the most contentious areas of the bank’s lending policy.
MDB: Civil Society Calls on World Bank to Reform its Energy Lending Read More »
A few weeks back, a radio reporter from US-based Public Radio International contacted us to discuss charcoal, woodfuels, and briquettes projects in Haiti. We are pleased to share with you her story. “Before the recent earthquake, Haiti was no stranger to natural disasters. In recent years, thousands of people have been killed by floods and
Recycled trash to fuel Haiti Read More »
First the FT mentioned it. We blogged about it in December. Then CNN’s Anderson Cooper did a piece. Now it’s the BBC’s turn to take a whack a it, albeit with a twist. Whatever the case, I always learn something new from this story. In this case, it’s the alarming statistic that 90 percent of
BBC: Life-saving stove in the Congo Read More »
OPINION
So, to answer the question, “when it’s Earth Day in America is it Earth Day everywhere?”
The answer is, sadly, no.
When it’s Earth Day in America, is it Earth Day everywhere? Read More »
Tracking the price of charcoal within a country or region can provide valuable insight for researchers and entrepreneurs. Such information could help inform the pricing of briquettes, the relative cost of biomass in a region, and much more. In a few days we will post a section on our website’s homepage where you can track
New feature: Charcoal Price around the world Read More »
Addressing today the newly minted Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a series of promising initiatives. Not surprisingly, the one that really grabbed our attention was the following: Advancing Sustainable Biomass Energy: The U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are inviting interested countries
Encouraging partnership on sustainable biomass for Latin America Read More »
Equipping 50 percent of households that burn biomass with improved stoves by 2015 would cost about $2 billion upfront but would almost immediately yield $37 billion in fuel savings, leaving a net gain to the world’s energy poor of some $35 billion.
Over a ten year period this would generate an economic return of U$105 billion.
At two to 10 times above Mongolian and international air quality standards, Ulaanbaatar’s PM rates are among the worst in the world, according to a December 2009 World Bank report. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates that health costs related to this air pollution account for as much as 4 percent of Mongolia’s GDP.
MONGOLIAN Capital grapples with smog problem from IAP Read More »
The Central Cardamom Protected Forest (CCPF) in Cambodia is a 400,000-hectare zone that the government created in 2002.
Conservationists see the Cardamoms as an ecological jewel. It is home to dozens of threatened species, including some that have become extinct elsewhere, as well as a vital watershed that supports hundreds of thousands of people downstream of its rivers.
But the CCPF is also home to more than 3,000 isolated villagers, many of them indigenous Khmer Daeum whose ancestors have lived in the forest for centuries.
In dealing with them, authorities have two choices: Offer a stick, or offer a carrot. Officials can tell the communities to stop using their ancestral forests outright, or work with them to end destructive commercial poaching and logging.
A balancing act in the Cardamoms Read More »
The latest quarterly update from the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (Bulletin 23)is dedicated to harnessing the power of the carbon credit market to support stove projects around the world.
Tool: generating carbon credits from stove projects (PCIA) Read More »
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