Focusing on Energy Access as a means of delivering health benefits for millions is also increasingly being seen as a way of combating the challenge of climate change. Initiatives such as the Energy for All 2030 Project, an EU-wide initiative for more and better funding for energy access projects in Sub Saharan Africa, is now part of a broader trend of trans-national initiatives that not only develop strategies but also drive action on the ground.
Swedish researchers from the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) in Stockholm, Sweden, Fiona Lambe and Patricia Tella, say the Institute is playing a leading role in highlighting the issues for Swedish and European Policy makers. They are working to create a platform for dialogue between African and European civil society as well advocating more policy focus and financing at the EU level for the goal of universal energy access.
According to the authors, “Supporting developing countries to scale-up access to sustainable energy for cooking will not only bring positive effects for climate change; it will improve the health and economy of the world's most vulnerable households. What's more, the cost of achieving universal energy access in the coming decades is surprisingly low.”
The initiatives on Energy access are focused on developing viable alternatives in critical areas such as improved cook stoves that can make a significant difference.
Indoor Air Pollution and the impact of soot from cook stoves on the climate are both issues that have a ready solution in improved cook stoves.
The researchers point to the success of the ethanol fuelled “CleanCook” stove, originally Swedish technology, in Ethiopia. Ethiopian NGO, Gaia Association has pilot tested these stoves in households in Addis Ababa and in a number of refugee camps with very positive results. Commercial distribution of stoves will start soon as Ethiopian households have shown readiness to switch completely to ethanol.
A study by Bailis, Ezzati and Kammen says that without systematic changes, household biomass use will result in an estimated 8.1 million Lower Respiratory Infection (LRI) deaths among young children in sub-Saharan Africa alone between 2000 and 2030.
The projected number of people who use traditional biomass as wood and manure would rise from 2.7 billion today to 2.8 billion in 2030 (according to International Energy Agency (IEA) and reported by InDepthNews) and this, will only exacerbate the situation even further.
IAP causes health hazards on one hand and on the other is afflicting climate change. Black carbon or soot from stoves is thought to be the second biggest contributor to global warming after CO2.
Read the full story on: Sustainable energy access for Africa: a win-win solution for climate and development
Photo Courtesy: Project Gaia
