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Page last updated at Friday, December 9, 2011 12:12 PM //
The challenges of climate change and energy poverty can be solved by powering the development of renewable energy technologies (RET), according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
According to UNCTAD’s Technology and Innovation Report 2011, energy poverty remains the key issue in the interface of climate change and development.
The report noted that RETs “offer a distinct possibility of tackling the dual challenges of climate change and energy poverty.”
It argues that RETs such as solar pumps, solar PV installations, small wind, mini-hydro and biomass already provide cost-effective energy solutions that bring significant benefits to local communities.
“Of the 1.4 billion people not connected to electricity grids globally, approximately 85% live in rural areas, where RETs can be an important means of energy supply through semi-grid and non-grid solutions,” said the Geneva-based agency.
Due to these distinct features and the declining costs of RETs in recent times, UNCTAD said there has been a surge in the use of RETs worldwide, including in developing countries.
“The supply of energy by RETs, globally, has risen rapidly over the past decade, especially since 2003, when hydrocarbon prices began surging. In 2009, developing countries accounted for about half of all electric power-generating capacity using RETs. The electricity-generating capacity from RETs (excluding large-scale hydropower) in developing countries has grown rapidly, almost doubling in five years, from 160 GW in 2004 to 305 GW in 2009,” added the report.
The report stresses the need to focus on how RETs can complement conventional energy sources in developing countries to ensure that the lack of electricity – which is a major bottleneck to industrial development – can be overcome. Not only could RETs potentially help reduce energy poverty, they could also reduce social inequalities through the creation of new jobs in their application.
The report therefore proposes that developing countries should promote rapid development and deployment of RETs of the kind that promote large energy savings through improved energy efficiency.
Such a shift, the Report suggests, would represent more of an energy revolution than the current energy evolution, and will only be possible through governmental support and policy action.
By Ekow Quandzie