A World of Difference in Energy Access
| Contributed by James Robinson | |
| 10 May 2007 | |
Sub-Saharan Africans use seven times less electric power than people in high income countries, according to the World Bank's Little Green Data Book, released May 8 during United Nations Sustainable Development meetings in New York. At Kayunga Hospital in Uganda, medical instruments include not only scalpels but flashlights. Unlike about 75 percent of households in Africa, the hospital is lucky enough to be connected to an electrical grid. But the hospital only gets electricity every other day - about 15 days a month - and there's a time lag before the generator clicks on, explains Dr. Musisi Dirisa. Seven Times Less PowerSub-Saharan Africans use seven times less electric power than people in high income countries, according to the World Bank's Little Green Data Book, released May 8 during United Nations Sustainable Development meetings in New York.Only 25 percent of Africans have access to modern energy, according to the Bank's Investment Framework for Clean Energy and Development. About 56 percent of total energy use comes from traditional biomass-mostly firewood. The top 20 biomass users in the world are all African countries, with the exception of Nepal (fourth), Haiti (11th) and Myanmar (12th), according to the book. The growing appetite for energy has helped shrink forests. Nearly 45,000 square kilometers of forest were lost in low income countries between 1990 and 2005, and another 38,000 square kilometers of forest were lost in lower middle income countries. "Most people (in Africa) do not have access to clean energy. As a result they suffer health consequences" says Katherine Sierra, the Bank's Vice President for Sustainable Development. "They're breathing indoor air pollution caused by poor fuels. There's no lighting in the evening, so kids can't study for school. There's no refrigeration at clinics, vaccines spoil." Impact on Poverty ReductionShe says the problem poses a major challenge to economic growth and the achievement of global development goals, such as halving extreme poverty by 2015."All this is very much related to poverty alleviation," Sierra says. "It's very clear major increases in modern energy will be part of the solution. But we're projecting by 2030, even with a doubling in the amount of expenditure that might be able to go to energy in Africa, access rates, on average, will still be about 50 percent." Even that increase would require a doubling in aid, from the current US$2 billion a year to US$4 billion, says Sierra. "We think it's an achievable goal," she says. "It's a difficult one, and when we made the goal we tried to look at it both in terms of what was available in terms of financing, and also what was achievable in terms of capacity on the ground to be able to stretch that far." Encouraging a Greener Growth PathSierra says substantially more money will be needed to "encourage a greener growth path in developing countries" based on new, cleaner technologies.Worldwide, the Bank estimates the power sector alone needs at least US$30 billion a year to move to a lower carbon economy. That's in addition to the US$165 billion-plus per year needed to provide electricity in developing countries. The carbon market, which helps finance clean energy and energy efficiency projects in non-OECD countries, surged to US$30 billion in 2006. Some US$5 billion went to developing countries. Sierra says a bigger carbon market, fueled by more ambitious greenhouse gas-reduction targets in the European Union and other countries, could help finance clean development in developing countries to the tune of US$50 billion in the next few decades. | |