| Main knowledge bank page |
Recent additions |
Recent changes |
What links here |
Categories |
Category cloud How-to guides | Organisation profiles | Project profiles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GTZ HERA Household Energy Programme - News from Boiling Point 50 - January 2005
[top] [end]News from Headquarters[top] [end]IntroductionIn June 2004, Bonn played host to 3600 participants attending the International Conference for Renewable Energies – renewables 2004, invited by the German Government. The intergovernmental conference, which was organized by GTZ, was attended by delegations from 154 countries, including 121 ministers responsible for energy, the environment and development, alongside many representatives from the United Nations and other international organisations, non-governmental organisations, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholder groups. Two central issues were addressed:
[top] [end]Political declaration on renewable energiesThe outcome of these discussions lead to a Political Declaration that signals a worldwide turning point, according to the international press. The Political Declaration embodies a new consensus:that renewable energies are the energies of the future and thatenergy efficiency, is of key importance. The declaration reaffirms the Millennium Development Goal to halve poverty by 2015.[top] [end]Commitment to actionThe International Action Programme consists of almost 200 voluntary commitments and actions. Reaffirming the Millennium Development Goals means that efficient, affordable and clean energy technologies have to be made available to the poor. In terms of action this means:
All this needs one thing: access to energy. Developing countries need to expand energy services massively to reach these goals, and for this they need international co-operation. Through expansion, the poor could gain direct access to modern energy services for cooking, lighting, and productive activities that generate an income. With additional energy, they could build and operate schools allowing all boys and girls to receive basic education; they could run hospitals that will help reduce child mortality; they could pump and convey water to those who are presently denied access. [top] [end]Voluntary pledgesAmong the voluntary pledges compiled are ambitious national targets for the expansion of renewable energy by more than 20 countries, financial commitments by governments and financing institutions, commitments in the area of research and development and initiatives for increased cooperation with developing countries in the field of renewable energy. The implementation of the International Action Programme will save more than 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 per year by 2015. Also by 2015, it will have provided about one billion extra people with access to modern energy. The success of renewables 2004 was based on its new approach of building a bridge between multilateralism, bilateral cooperation and the more unilateral approach. In contrast to many previous international meetings, renewables 2004 did not aim to achieve uniform commitments for all countries. Instead, the outcome of renewables 2004 combines voluntary actions with Policy Recommendations and a Declaration containing a review clause.While participants could decide freely on their own input to the International Action Programme, they accepted that measurable steps should be reported to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development and that progress should be reviewed. All key players will pave the way towards a sustainable energy future. In the follow-up of the conference, the task remains to ensure that the conference outcomes are put into practice worldwide. Only if this is achieved can we truly speak of renewables 2004 being successful. [top] [end]Policy recommendations for renewable energiesThe document ‘Policy Recommendations for Renewable Energies’ is one of the key conference outcomes. Ministers and Government Representatives reached agreement in the following key areas:
The representatives complimented the Government of Germany and the German people for organising the Conference and for the opportunity it represented to stress the importance for advancing in the implementation of the commitments of Johannesburg on renewable energies to reach sustainable development worldwide. We have reported on the outcomes of this conference fairly extensively in the hope that this will motivate development agencies, civil society and the private sector worldwide to join in the task of monitoring the implementation of the International Action Program agreed upon at the conference. If you want more information on the commitments of your government, the national target is available from the relevant energy ministry of your country. [top] [end]Latest ProBec news
[top] [end]renewables 2004ProBEC was actively present at the Bonn Conference engaging in three different activities: Mr Freddie Motlhatlhedi, Coordinator SADC, Energy Programmes presented ProBEC under best practices at the Plenary Session. The presentation ‘Biomass energy – fulfilling energy needs for today and tomorrow?’ caught the grip of the audience from all over the world. His contribution can be seen on www.renewables 2004.de under ‘contributions of participants’. ProBEC staged a side event on the Day of Biomass. It was titled ‘Getting Biomass Energy fit for the Future!’ and had a short scenic introduction and a panel discussion. Last but not least, ProBEC also manned a stall and exhibits for interested visitors.[top] [end]European Union Energy Initiative (EUEI)has adopted ProBEC under para 8 as part of its action plan (www.renewables.de). Marlis Kees and Mr Freddie Motlhatlhedi from SADC had a meeting in Bonn with EUEI representatives. A proposal has been submitted for upscaling BEC activities in 5 countries namely Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.[top] [end]Launch of ProBEC SADCNorthThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands (DGIS) has signed the contract with GTZ-ProBEC on the expansion of ProBEC activities into Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi. The duration of the program will be from 01.07.2004 - 31.12.2006. The regional office of ProBEC SADC-North shall be in Lusaka, Zambia. The first planning workshop for ProBEC SADC-North was held from 12–13 August 2004 in Lusaka. The first national planning workshop for Tanzania is taking place from 10–11 Nov. in Dar-es-Salaam.[top] [end]UNDP/GEF proposal on barrier removalAplanning workshop for finalising the UNDP-GEF proposal on removing barriers to BEC in SME and institutions in 5 ProBEC-South countries ((Nam, Les, RSA, Moz, Zim) shall be held in South Africa in January 2004. In order to prepare for these planning workshops, impact assessment has been the focus of the regional office.[top] [end]The Rocket Stove is rocketingThe Rocket Stove technology for large scale cooking has been developed to a point where widespread dissemination can start. It has been tested in schools in Lesotho with promising results on efficiency and ease of handling. It has also been adapted to cooking situations in Malawi and Mozambique. Now we can proudly state that:
[top] [end]Our congratulations to the VESTOThe VESTO Stove developed and produced by New Dawn Engineering has won a prestigious award. The Design Institute of South Africa Award 2004 for Design Excellence has been bestowed on the VESTO Stove. The judging criteria included: innovation, cost/value relationship, performance, environmental impact, ease of maintenance and installation, manufacture and assembly.[top] [end]Energy-efficient stoves in developing countriesA Master’s thesis with the above named title has been completed by Andreas Michel at the RE studies program at the University of Oldennburg, Germany, where you can find a detailed description and evaluation of the Rocket and VESTO stoves, among others. You can find this at the ProBEC website.[top] [end]Experience exchange on low-cost clay and ceramic stoves
[top] [end]Workshop participationA nine-day GTZ-Programme for Biomass Energy Conservation (ProBEC) experience exchange workshop on low cost clay and ceramic stoves was held in Mulanje, Malawi from 28 June to 08 July 2004. Participants included stove promoters and builders, field facilitators and extension officers from governmental and non-governmental organisations from some of the ProBEC partner countries including Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Although not one of the ProBEC partner countries, Kenya was included, due to the country’s wide experience on sustainable dissemination of clay and ceramic stoves.The workshop offered the opportunity for promoters of various fuel-efficient household stoves to:
[top] [end]Training in manufacturingSome of the major components of the training included:
[top] [end]Training in marketingAn introduction to marketing defined it as ‘the process that is aimed at improving on the quantities of the products sold and profit accrued by concentrating on satisfying customers’ needs’. The marketing concept thus entails determining the customers’ needs/wants and adapting and supplying these in a more efficient and effective manner than competitors.The four major steps involve identifying and understanding customer needs, (4Ps of marketing) were discussed and participants agreed on key issues to be considered for each component. These components comprise:
[top] [end]PricingMore time was allocated to the pricing aspect in response to participants’ request for a pricing formula. Since clay and mud are normally collected and not bought, the pricing for mud and clay stoves involves costing the time spent collecting the clay, firing and distribution costs and losses for clay stoves, promotional costs and profit margin. In general, the prices the promoters were charging were lower than the ones they calculated at the workshop, mainly because of some time cost elements that they were taking for granted. The promoters agreed on the need for constant review of prices to keep in line with prevailing conditions but still considering their customers’ ability to pay.
[top] [end]MonitoringAn introduction to monitoring defined it as a process involving the collection and analysis of data to ensure that the programme meets the objectives and needs of the users. The participants were introduced to participatory impact monitoring – monitoring by different players including; users, promoters, installers, facilitators, extension staff, project management team, and the donor at different impact levels. Participants agreed that to facilitate the monitoring process survey should include: numbers produced and/or installed, dates produced and/or installed, sales figures and problems encountered and the solutions that had been found.[top] [end]Workshop outcomes
[top] [end]Download the original article GTZ News BP50 edited by Agnes Klingshirn (258 KB)[top] [end]Contents: Boiling Point 50 - Scaling up and commercialisation of household energy initiatives
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Page created:
27 June 2007; Last edited:
28 June 2007; Version: 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pagename: GTZNewsBP50 @HEDON: YDFA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
