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Articles on Development Issues

• Renewables Club Founded By 10 Countries
  June 1, 2013 - cleantechnica.com
  
  High-level representatives from 10 countries have gathered in Berlin to establish the Renewables Club on June 1st, 2013. Their common goal is to scale up the deployment of renewable energy worldwide. Founding members of this alliance are China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Morocco, South Africa, Tonga, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and IRENA.
  
  
• On Our Radar: A Global Coal Boom
  December 18, 2012 - nytimes.com
  
  Coal will come close to surpassing oil as the world’s top energy source by 2017, the International Energy Agency predicts. Demand for coal will increase in every region of the world except the United States, where the fuel is being pushed out by natural gas, the agency says. [International Energy Agency]
  
  
• Carbon Taxes Make Ireland Even Greener
  Elisabeth Rosenthal - December 27,2012 - nytimes.com
  
  

  DUBLIN — Over the last three years, with its economy in tatters, Ireland embraced a novel strategy to help reduce its staggering deficit: charging households and businesses for the environmental damage they cause.

• Texas cities find it can take a lot of green to be 'green'
  Mar 8, 2012 - Matthew Tresaugue - chron.com
  
  College Station, the maroon-hued home of Texas A&M University, is finding it is not easy being green.
  
  
• Bulk of India’s future energy to come from renewables
  Mar 1, 2012 - Ritwik Mukherjee - www.mydigitalfc.com
  
  By 2050, nearly 69 per cent of the electricity produced in India will come from renewables like solar energy, suggests a recent market insight on the “BIPV (Building-integrated photovoltaics) Market — Emerging Opportunities through Sustainable Resources” by Frost & Sullivan. India’s strategic geographical location enables it to tap the vast potential for solar power generation, with about 300 clear sunny days in a year, the Frost & Sullivan report says.
  
  
• German government cuts FiT from March 9
  Mar 1, 2012 - Mark Osborne - pv-tech.org
  
  Due to an aggressive FiT cut of between 20% for residential and 30% for large-scale PV installations, the German government will introduce the FiT cuts from March 9, 2012 to eliminate a rush of installations to beat the tariff change.
  
  
• Only one-in-three Afghans get electricity
  Feb 8, 2012 - http://pakobserver.net
  
  Only one in three Afghans has access to electricity despite years of spending to improve supply, and the country is still far too dependent on imported power, the head of the country’s state owned power utility told Reuters. Abdul Razique Samadi, the chief executive officer at Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), said the situation in the capital, Kabul, is far better than the rest of the country, with around 70 percent of households connected.
  
  
• German Village Produces 321% More Energy Than It Needs!
  Feb 2, 2012 - Timon Singh - inhabitat.com
  
  Ok, those Germans are just showing off now. Not only has the nation announced plans to shut down all of its nuclear power plants and started the construction of 2,800 miles of transmission lines for its new renewable energy initiative, but now the village of Wildpoldsried is producing 321% more energy than it needs! The small agricultural village in the state of Bavaria is generating an impressive $5.7 million in annual revenue from renewable energy.
  
  
• Switched on to mini grids
  Oct 20, 2011 - Simon Rolland - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  A BILLION AND a half people around the world still don't have access to electricity. Could hybrid mini grids be the best way to provide electricity – particularly to rural, often isolated, areas?
  
  
• Renewables stir growth, create jobs: EU adviser
  Oct 20, 2011 - Erik Kirschbaum - reuters.com
  
  Jeremy Rifkin, a best-selling author and an adviser to the European Union on climate change and energy security, said Germany has been leading the way by creating some 250,000 jobs in renewable energy in just a few years, but could do more.
  
  
• Condemning Private Property to Build Transmission
  Sep 21, 2011 - Ken Silverstein - renewablesbiz.com
  
  A transmission case in Montana is getting ensnared in both the state capitol and in the local court house. It’s centered on “eminent domain” -- whether state law allows energy developers to take private property for public use.
  
  
• Power Import Options for a Nuclear-free Germany
  Sep 12, 2011 - Harry Valentine - energypulse.net
  
  Germany's influential environmental movement has responded to the fallout of Japan's recent nuclear problems. They successfully lobbied their federal government and Germany's Chancellor has announced the phase-out of nuclear power generating in that country. Germany will seek to use domestic and imported wind, hydroelectric, solar and other forms of renewable power. That choice opens new opportunity for Iceland and also Greenland that urgently seeks foreign investment to build their national economies.
  
  
• Government Fracking Panel Calls for Environmental Impact Study
  Sep 1, 2011 - Joel Kirkland and ClimateWire - scientificamerican.com
  
  From increased greenhouse gas emissions to water contamination, hydraulic fracturing to free natural gas poses a range of environmental challenges
  
  
• Salazar Approves Major Renewable Energy Projects, Identifies Next Step in Solar Energy Development
  Aug 19, 2011 - doi.gov
  
  Projects to generate 1,300 Jobs, 550 MW of clean power; Supplement to Solar PEIS will offer greater clarity for solar development in the West.
  
  
• Carbon War Room releases Livestock Report
  Aug 19, 2011 - Guy Pinjuv, Ph.D., Lead Analyst and Matthew Cullinen, Editor - carbonwarroom.com
  
  Over the next decade and beyond, Brazil will rely heavily on the clearing of tropical forests to make way for the expansion of livestock rangeland.
  
  
• From King Coal to Carbon Tax: A Historical Perspective on the Energy and Climate-Change Debate
  Aug 9, 2011 - Paul Sabin - thesolutionsjournal.com
  
  Current climate and energy policy debates in the United States rarely involve historians. If you search the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 2007 synthesis report, you will not find the words history or historical. Even so, history pervades climate and energy policy discussions. History guides policy choices, inspires proposals for action, and structures institutional development.
  
  
• All-Energy: Scotland aims for 100% renewable energy
  Jun 23, 2011 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  Salmond said in the opening session: "Because the pace of development has been so rapid, with our 2011 target already exceeded, we can now commit to generating the equivalent of 100% of Scotland's own electricity demand from renewable resources by 2020. By then we intend to be generating twice as much electricity as Scotland needs – just over half of it from renewables, and just under half from other conventional sources.



• Tunisia still in running for Desertec role despite turmoil
  May 21, 2011 - globserver.com
  
  Tunisia remains a leading candidate to host one of the first renewables projects built by the Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII), despite the North African country’s recent revolution.



• Chu Introduces Climate REDI Program At Copenhagen Conference
  Dec 15, 2009 - Solar Industry
  
  On behalf of President Obama, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced the launch of the Renewables and Efficiency Deployment Initiative (Climate REDI), a new initiative designed to promote clean energy technologies in developing countries.
  

• UN pushes electricity, fuels lack in climate talks
  Nov 23, 2009 - John Heilprin - Associated Press
  
  Development officials say almost half the world's population lacks modern fuels to cook or heat or any electricity, and insist negotiators must address that "energy poverty" as part of any global climate pact next month in Denmark.
  
  
• Gorillas versus charcoal update: Biomass project reaches halfway point
  Nov 4, 2009 - John Platt - Scitific American
  
  What do comic books, a reggae band and alternative fuels have in common? They are all part of a project to help save critically endangered mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
  
  
• KYOCERA Donates Solar Power Generating Systems to Schools in Uganda
  Oct 8, 2009 - Business Wire
  
  Kyocera Corporation (President: Tetsuo Kuba)(NYSE:KYO)(TOKYO:6971) announced today that it is donating and installing solar power generating systems to 15 schools in the Republic of Uganda over the next five years.
  
  
• A place in society
  Sep 25th 2009 - The Economist
  
  You might suppose that financial innovation had done enough damage. But bankers, investors and philanthropists believe it can help the world’s poor
  
  
• 'Climate Smart' World Within Reach, says World Bank
  Sept 16, 2009 - M2 Presswire
  
  Developing countries can shift to lower-carbon paths while promoting development and reducing poverty, but this depends on financial and technical assistance from high-income countries, says a new World Bank report released today. High-income countries also need to act quickly to reduce their carbon footprints and boost development of alternative energy sources to help tackle the problem of climate change.
  
  
• Developing World's Energy Needs Set Stage for Fight
  Sep 8, 2009 - Emily Wax - Washington Post Foreign Service
  
  Developing nations' urgent need for more energy has become a central issue this year as developed countries -- including the United States -- push for a global reduction in carbon emissions ahead of a climate change conference scheduled for December in Copenhagen.
  
  
• Lush land dries up, withering Kenya's hopes
  Sept 7, 2009 - Jeffrey Gettleman - The New York Times
  
  The sun somehow feels closer here, more intense, more personal. As Philip Lolua waits under a tree for a scoop of food, heat waves dance up from the desert floor, blurring the dead animal carcasses sprawled in front of him.
  
  
• Biogas project in Malawi leads to other benefits
  Sep 1, 2009 - M.G.G. Chagunda, D.J. Roberts, M.L. Chitawo and V. Kasulo - Renewable Energy Focus.Com
  
  A small-scale underground biogas plant in Malawi that has recently been established in an effort to mitigate climate change can also improve food security and livelihoods in rural Malawi, if well tapped. Mizeck Chagunda, geneticist and expert in livestock, agriculture and environment, explains.
  
  
• U.N. reports on developing nations' energy needs
  Sep 1, 2009 - Neil MacFarquhar - The New York Times
  
  It will cost between $500 billion and $600 billion every year for the next 10 years to allow developing nations to grow using renewable energy resources, instead of relying on dirty fuels that worsen global warming, according to a United Nations report released Tuesday.
  
  
• UN: Poor nations need $600B for climate change
  Sep 1 , 2009 - Eliane Engeler - Associated Press
  
  Developing countries need between $500 billion and $600 billion a year from rich nations to adapt to climate change and make sure their economies grow, a U.N. report concluded Tuesday.
  
  
• Kenyans get solar-powered cell phone
  Aug 21, 2009 - UPI
  
  A solar phone that recharges even on cloudy days is expected to be a hit in Kenya, where electricity is scarce, Safaricom officials said.
  
  
• The Millennium Development Goals Report 2009
  Aug, 2009 - United Nations
  
  This report is based on a master set of data that has been compiled by an Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDG Indicators led by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, in response to the wishes of the General Assembly for periodic assessment of progress towards the MDGs. The Group comprises representatives of the international organizations whose activities include the preparation of one or more of the series of statistical indicators that were identified as appropriate for monitoring progress towards the MDGs, as reflected in the list below. A number of national statisticians and outside expert advisers also contributed.
  
  
• Off-grid PV back on the map with developing countries
  July 9, 2009 - Renewable Energy Focus.com
  
  Off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) power has taken a back-seat in talk about solar power in recent years despite once holding 90% of the total installed capacity worldwide. However, as the thirst for energy increases in regions like Africa, Asia or Latin America, off-grid solar PV energy is experiencing a come-back.
  
  
• Powering Developing Countries
  May 19, 2009 - News Release - EnergyBiz Magazine
  
  Energy is inextricably linked to today's key global challenges - poverty alleviation, climate change and food security. The development of a sustainable, long-term solution to the world's energy needs has itself become a defining issue of our time. In a guest commentary, UNIDO general-director Kandeh K. Yumkella, explores these and other global trends. His piece is featured in the current issue of EnergyBiz magazine.
  
  
• Gorillas vs. charcoal: Biomass to the rescue
  Apr 23, 2009 - Scientific American (sciam.com)
  
  Every day, Virunga National Park gets a little bit smaller. The forest, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is one of the last homes of the majestic mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei). It is also the main source of energy—in the form of wood—for the millions of people who live in areas surrounding the park, only 6 percent of whom have access to electricity.
  
  
• Microfinance Institutions Begin to Incorporate Climate Change in Development Strategies
  Apr 14, 2009 - Robert Kropp - SocialFunds.com
  
  Report from CGAP finds that MFIs are well-positioned to contribute to energy efficiency in developing countries, but recommends shift in priorities from loans to financial services that include savings.
  
  
• UN warns of widespread water shortages
  Mar 12, 2009 - Martin Mittelstaedt - The Globe and Mail
  
  Constantly rising demand for a finite resource raises risk of political upheaval and economic stagnation over next 20 years, report says
  
  
• Delivering Green Hydroelectric Power-to-Go in Rwanda
  Nov 25, 2008 - Larry Greenemeier
  
  Dartmouth students bring light to once-dark homes in a remote Rwandan village
  
  
• World's Poor Need Electricity & Food -- Not Laptops, Gates Tells Conference
  Nov 5, 2000 - The Observer
  
  Microsoft boss Bill Gates has renounced the machine that has made him the world's richest man. In a startling proclamation, Gates has announced that computers can do little to solve the planet's gravest social ills.
  

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