COVID-19, Climate and Clean Fuel: Charting a path for Africa’s Inclusive Green Economic Recovery In a previous blog post for the Charcoal Project, Fatin Ibrahim shared her findings from a research project regarding the impacts of Covid-19 on participants in the biomass fuel sector in East Africa. Because these findings were compelling, an overview of […]
COVID-19, Climate and Clean Fuel Read More »
Using Green Energy to fight for Women’s Health Meet Prescilla Awino Onyango of Winam Green Ventures Prescilla Awino Onyango is the founder of Winam Green Ventures (WGV), an organization in Kenya that works with women of underprivileged backgrounds in the Lake Victoria region. WGV educates and empowers women and girls with locally driven, sustainable and
Using Green Energy to Fight for Women’s Health Read More »
(In Mozambique) it now appears like some of the farmers who saw their crops devastated by the cyclone are turning to charcoal-making as a way of generating much-needed income.
This solution may have the perverse effect of exacerbating the deforestation, thus amplifying the impact of the next cyclone.
Mozambique: Charcoal as the poor man’s FEMA Read More »
Unsustainable charcoal consumption is a big problem Sub-Saharan Africa and it is increasing every year. As a result, forest cover in East and West Africa is dwindling with adverse Climate Change impacts (draught, floods, etc.). Over half of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are adversely affected by traditional charcoal consumption. The Charcoal Project has a
Unsustainable Charcoal Consumption in Africa: what we plan to do about it Read More »
What exactly is the cost to society when one million hectares (8,861 sq. miles, an area roughly the size of Costa Rica) of Brazilian rainforest disappears? The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) just released Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature, a report that aims to precisely answer that question. The report highlights government and business development
Putting a Price on Biodiversity Loss Read More »
Source: The New York Times, published Sept 28, 2010 To the Editor: Re “Developing Nations to Get Clean-Burning Cookstoves” (news article, Sept. 21): It is great news that the United States will provide $50 million to help provide clean-burning cookstoves for villages in Asia, Africa and South America. In addition to the appalling health risks (1.9
Clean-Burning Cookstoves for Developing Countries Read More »
Gifted with huge reserves of oil and gas, Nigeria is today one of the fastest growing economies in the world. But despite its natural wealth, the country is struggling to provide basic energy for its own citizens, two-thirds of whom currently live on less than a dollar a day.
In this story, a non-profit makes the case that, sometimes, a more “modern” fuel can play an important role in helping meet a country’s specific energy development goals.
Women Key to Reduce Impact of Climate Change in Nigeria Read More »
Some 1.35 million tonnes of charcoal worth about $400 million USD were sold and shipped around the world in 2007.
This means that somewhere, 5.4 million tons of wood where chopped down to make charcoal for export. With the exception of one seller in our research who described his product as coming from a “wild native” forest, none of the other traders indicated the source of their raw material.
The timber industry, retailers, and consumers have embraced certification schemes (FSC, SFI) for timber and finished wood products.
Isn’t it time we considered something similar for the international trade in wood charcoal?
Is it time to certify charcoal exports? Read More »
The first of my top ten predictions for the year is…
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.
Kim’s Top 10 predictions for 2010. Or why 2010 will be better than 2009. Read More »
I did not attend Copenhagen but I did follow news stories from many sources. Below are some of the more widely held conclusions as well as a quick analysis of what this means for energy efficiency, REDD, and energy poverty alleviation. 1. A deal appeared to be within striking distance but it was scuttled by
Copenhagen: A post mortem Read More »
And we’re baaack! It’s 2010, where do we start? Pick up with the qualified fiasco that was Copenhagen? Where does that leave REDD and forests? What will happen with the dangling carrot of financing for forest protection in the tropical belt? What are the prospects of a deal in 2010? Will 2010 see expanded energy
Hello 2010. Where to now? Read More »
A presentation unveiled at the recent COP15 meeting by the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (PCIA, of which we are proud members) might have turned the tides had it received greater attention. Titled Cleaner Cook Stoves for Developing Countries: Improving Health, Reducing Climate Change, the PowerPoint focused on the carbon offset potential and role of
Maybe if Obama, Jiabao, and the others had seen this in Copenhagen… Read More »
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