In no particular order, here are my top ten predictions for the year.
1. The US Senate will consider levying taxes against India and China in an effort to “level” the playing field with these top CO2 polluters.
2. In the absence of a binding agreement on curbing global greenhouse gas emissions, governments will look inward at more aggressive actions that will independently reduce the various “wedges” that make up the global emissions pie.
3. There will be a major push to implement more aggressive energy efficiency measures in developing countries
4. After all the posturing and politicking of Copenhagen, progress will be made to establish a framework outside the UN context to protect the CO2-sequestering capacity of tropical forests through compensation mechanisms.
5. The US will lead in alleviating energy poverty in developing countries, which is why The Charcoal Project will work hard this year to put on the agenda a crash program in energy efficiency for stoves, kilns, and alternative biomass fuels.
6. The US Congress will pass meaningful legislation designed to curb emissions
7. The US will embrace the development of green technology/clean energy challenge against competitors like China, Japan, and Europe.
8. A series of countries, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, will begin to consider large-scale biomass energy-efficiency programs.
9. In the context of forest protection, ideas will be floated designed to regulate the commercial trade of charcoal across borders. (See our post)
10. By December 31st, The Charcoal Project will have solidly established itself as an actor in the field of biomass energy-efficiency!
Yes, 2010 will be better than 2009.
Kim
The Charcoal Project is thrilled to join the global Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (PCIA)!
The organization’s 330 partners contribute their resources and expertise to reduce smoke exposure from cooking and heating practices in households around the world. The partnership works on four priority areas:
- Meeting the needs of local communities for clean, efficient, affordable and safe cooking and heating options;
- Improving cooking technologies, fuels and practices for reducing indoor air pollution;
- Developing commercial markets for clean and efficient technologies and fuels; and
- Monitoring and evaluating the health, social, economic and environmental impact of household energy interventions
More from the PCIA website:
About PCIA
More than half of the world’s population—three billion people—cook their food and heat their homes by burning coal and biomass, including wood, dung, and crop residues, in open fires or rudimentary stoves. Indoor burning of solid fuels releases dangerous particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and other toxic pollutants, and releases greenhouse gases into the air. The resulting indoor air pollution levels are 20 to 100 times greater than the World Health Organization’s (WHO) air quality guidelines allow. Unfortunately, the health risks and threats to the environment are on the rise: the International Energy Agency estimates that 200 million more people will use these fuels by 2030.
WHO estimates that 1.5 million people die prematurely each year from exposure to indoor smoke from burning solid fuels. In fact, indoor air pollution from household energy is ranked fourth in the list of serious threats to health in less developing countries, after malnutrition, unsafe sex, and unsafe water. Women and children face the greatest risks. Breathing unsafe levels of smoke indoors more than doubles a child’s risk of serious respiratory infection and is associated with pregnancy problems, such as stillbirth and low-weight babies.
To address this challenge, a group of committed organizations joined forces in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development to launch the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (PCIA). Already, key PCIA Partners have reported helping 1.4 million households to adopt clean cooking and heating practices, reducing harmful exposures for more than 7.6 million people. These Partners plan to reach another 6 million households by 2010.
View a list of partners.
Charcoal.
You may not think much about it. But if you care about public health, poverty alleviation, and the environment, then it’s a big deal.
Why? Because more than two billion people use wood, charcoal, dung or agricultural resides as primary fuel for their cooking and heating needs, leading to significant health, economic and environmental consequences.
Consider these stats presented by MIT’s Amy Smith:
- Almost 2 million deaths each year are caused by breathing smoke from indoor cooking fires [1]
- Respiratory infections are the leading cause of death of young children worldwide.[2]
- An estimated 50 billion hours are spent collecting firewood each year. That’s as if the entire workforce of the State of California worked full time for a year doing nothing but fetching water! (Not sure exactly how they’d fetch water, but that’s another issue…) [3]
- In some areas where wood and charcoal are scarce, more than a quarter of a family’s income is spent on fuel.
- Charcoal production is an important contributing factor in the deforestation of the tropical belt. Deforestation accounts for about 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. That’s more than the emissions produced by trains, planes, ships, cars, and trucks worldwide. (My note)
The Charcoal Project is a web-based resource that explores the challenges and solutions facing charcoal production and its impacts around the world.
At The Charcoal Project we want to discuss all aspects of the issue. But we are especially eager to connect individuals and communities on the ground willing to share their experiences producing energy efficient stoves and manufacturing biofuels brickets.
You will also find here stories and ideas that are not directly connect to charcoal production and consumption. For example, we might explore legislative issues, an interesting study, a look at alternative fuels, or even put up a slideshow or video. So please send us content you wish to share!
And thank you for being patient while we build this blog!
J. Kim Chaix
The Charcoal Project
Brooklyn, NY
USA
DISCLAIMER: The Charcoal Project is a private, individual effort and is not affiliated with any institution, government, or company. It is intended as a public service whose purpose is to connect all those interested in this topic. We try to credit all sources of information and welcome our readers to report any errors or oversight. Thank you for supporting us!
Banner photo: bhairav/iStock
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