Energy for the Poor

At a roundtable discussion about energy for the poor, the panellists concluded that a detailed assessment of world energy needs was needed in order to come up with focused solutions.

This article below has been adapted from the article, Energy for the Poor written by Julie Hunt

Nobel Peace Prize winner, Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says one of the keys to make clean, efficient energy available to the poor, is research and development into new technologies.

At a roundtable discussion about energy for the poor, the panellists concluded that a detailed assessment of world energy needs was needed in order to come up with focused solutions. It was vital that development organisations and businesses worked together. They recommended that a body of entrepreneurs be set up as a focus for the campaign to develop clean energy technologies.

Dr Pachauri stressed that making energy available to the poor would also create development opportunities, which could generate income. He illustrated this by showing a film about the solar lamps developed by The Energy Resources Institute. The movie, shot in Rajasthan, India, shows how access to light has enabled villagers to develop new careers in teaching and furniture making.

Dr Pachauri mentioned that there had been a clear lack of investment in photovoltaic (solar) technology, evidenced by sustained high prices.

Thus while developing technologies to harness solar energy was suggested as a viable solution,the group warned against consigning the developing world to sun and dung,while the developed world continues to get rich on the back of fossil fuels.

Dr Pachauri said people in industrialised countries had to cut fossil fuel consumption, while allowing poorer countries to use more.