The Charcoal Project » World Energy Outlook

NYT: Energy poverty on the agenda for 2011

Jean Kim Chaix — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 15:12:33 +0000

Energy poverty may not mean much to most people because up until now no one has bothered explaining the concept. And even though “energy poverty” was not mentioned directly, the knowledge vacuum began to be filled on December 24th when the New York Times published African Huts Far From the Grid Glow With Renewable Power, an excellent overview of how renewable energy and energy efficient technologies are dramatically changing the lives of rural African populations that lack access to modern energy. The story leads with the example of a family in rural, off-grid Kenya with no access to electricity. However, … Continue reading →

Peak Oil vs Peak Biomass: Are we there yet?

Jean Kim Chaix — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:45:29 +0000

This New York Times article, based on the IEA (International Energy Agency) latest World Energy Outlook, suggests humanity is on the downward slope of the oil availability curve. We’ve often wandered what analogies, if any, existed between the concepts of “peak oil” and “peak biomass.” After all, both the fossil fuel industry and the biomass fuel community speak of “energy efficiency,” “carbon and particulate emissions,” “transport costs,” “public health,” and “environmental, Climate Change, and social impact” of these fuels. So, can we speak of “peak biomass?” And are we there yet? I think the answer is yes and no. Yes, … Continue reading →

The Charcoal Project & the creation of a global market for renewable energy & efficiency solutions

Jean Kim Chaix — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:35:33 +0000

Dispatches from: Emerging Solutions for the Energy Poor. Technological, Entrepreneurial & Institutional Challenges NOVEMBER 5 and 6, 2010 Wittemyer Courtroom University of Colorado Law School Wolf Law Building 401 UCB, 2450 Kittredge Loop Boulder, CO 80309 USA The 2010 Conference is designed to be a sequel to the 2009 World Energy Justice Conference (WEJC 2009) which began examining ways of mainstreaming safe, clean, and efficient energy for the world’s Energy Poor (EP). The EP number two and a half billion people who live on less than $1-2 a day and have no access to modern energy services. The 2010 conference … Continue reading →

Hello, Houston? Is that blip on the radar screen actually energy poverty?

Jean Kim Chaix — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:27:13 +0000

Is it just us or is public awareness finally turning its ADHD gaze on energy poverty? Was it Hillary Clinton’s announcement of the launch of the Global Alliance of Clean Cookstoves at the CGI the catalyst? Is the public finally connecting the dots between deforestation and a series of natural and human disasters? (See Haiti, Pakistan) The fact is that there seems to be more and more ink dedicated to the topic of energy poverty and its impact on public health, poverty, and the degradation of local environments in developing countries. The clearest indication yet that energy poverty alleviation is … Continue reading →

To meet MDGs, fight energy poverty, report says

Jean Kim Chaix — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 18:30:03 +0000

The chief economist for the International Energy Agency says the international community must mobilize to target the 1.4 billion people worldwide without electricity, and to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals.

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IEA: Cookstoves are great but energy poverty still looms large on the horizon

Jean Kim Chaix — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:42:30 +0000

The IEA said in an excerpt of its 2010 World Energy Outlook that some 1.2 billion people, equivalent to China's population, would still have no electricity by 2030 if governments made no change to existing policies, down from 1.4 billion currently. The $36 billion per year only represented 3 percent of global energy investments projected by the agency to 2030.

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World Bank gets an earful on its plan to tackle energy poverty

Jean Kim Chaix — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:50:23 +0000

Back in January the World Bank set out on a "listening tour" to ask people what they thought should be included in the Bank's Energy Strategy, which is set to be released next year.

Now, six months and 1,700 comments later, the people have spoken and the results are probably raising more than a few eyebrows inside the World Bank.

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The missing MDG goal: energy poverty alleviation

Jean Kim Chaix — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:53:27 +0000

First the good news: Jeffrey Sachs Charts the Way Forward for MDGs Ahead of UN Summit World-renowned economist calls on leaders to arrive at the New York meeting next month “with the agreed plans, partnerships, and financing to accelerate our progress.” Professor Jeffrey Sachs has outlined eight “major gaps” which need to be overcome if the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are to be achieved. These unmet objectives are in smallholder agriculture, education, water and sanitation, health, climate financing, empowering girls and women, infrastructure, and strategies and goals at the local level. His comments come ahead of the MDG summit, taking … Continue reading →

World needs a Nick Stern report on energy poverty

Jean Kim Chaix — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:23:47 +0000

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?

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Can Haiti be the new Katrina?

Jean Kim Chaix — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:18:11 +0000

What will it take?

What will it take to tip the scale in favor of a global crash program to swap out three-stones-and-a-pot for energy-efficient stoves, kilns, and sustainable alternative biofuels? Will Haiti be to bioenergy what Katrina was to climate change?

How long before Al Gore, Angelina, or Bono take on bionergy as the next big inconvenient truth? The Charcoal Project's intelligence services tell us there is already a film in the works. Will Bono embrace the rocket stove onstage to his fan's delight? Perhaps it will be the lure of a multi-billion dollar global market in carbon offsets from stoves, kilns, and briquettes programs that will do the trick. Or maybe it will be the on-the-ground realities of implementing REDD that will undo the Gordian knot. And the point is...? Actually, there are four points and they boil down to this: Continue reading →