Category: News

Kenya has dismissed calls for the cancellation of a multi-million dollar power purchase agreement with Ethiopia inprotest of a massive hydropower project that water scientists say will alter the lives of residents of Turkana region in Kenya.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga said despite ongoing efforts to expand electricity generation through investments in green energy initiatives, the demand for electric power in the East African nation would continue to grow, which justifies the need to import power from neighboring Ethiopia to meet the shortfalls.”We will lower the cost of energy through the importation of power from Ethiopia,” Odinga said late on Wednesday.

Environmentalists say the 1.7 billion U.S. dollar hydropower project would alter the lives of half a million residents of Lake Turkana and other regions neighboring Sothern Ethiopia. There are fears that the Omo River, which supplies water to the Gibe III Dam under construction, would affect water levels on Lake Victoria if its course is altered as proposed in the design of the power plant.

Kenyan parliamentarian, Ekwe Ethuro, who represents Turkana, said his constituents were deeply concerned that the environmental impact of the project could far outweigh the benefits. “Any project that alters the flow and course of the Omo River will have effects,” Ethuro said.Odinga said Nairobi was aware of the environmental impacts the Dam project would have on the residents of Turkana, but insisted the analysis by Kenyan scientists working on the project showed it would be temporary. “Omo River is the biggest river flowing into Turkana.

Read More on this: https://allafrica.com/stories/201208180344.html

New biofuels offer hope to hungry world

By James Melik Reporter, Business Daily, BBC World Service

The poorest people in the world face additional hunger as the price of staple foods soar. The growth of crops in 2012 has been badly affected by drought in the US and Russia and prices have risen 50% since June. According to a report about the hike in food prices, from the international agency Oxfam, 40% of US corn stocks are currently being used to produce fuel.

To Read More on this:

BBC News – New biofuels offer hope to hungry world

The mammoth negotiations in  June 2012 at the  United Nations Conference on Sustainable development resulted in a mixed outcome which in turn elicited a cauldron of responses and more so from the civil society and major groups.  In its working paper put forward for discussion at the conference, the  women’s’ major group dedicated a sub-section where it clearly elucidated its position regarding access and use of safe energy sources by women. In this subsection (3.1.6), the group recognizes that close to 2.4 billion people in developing countries still depend entirely on traditional biomass fuels which are detrimental for the environment and health and more dire still, over 2 million people, mostly women and children suffer from respiratory diseases caused by biomass burning as they spend most of their time indoors. Further, the paper recognizes that it is often women who are tasked with collecting and managing biomass fuel supplies such as firewood, dung and agricultural residues, and therefore leaving less time for productive activities.

The paper further goes on to recommend, Policies and actions to enlist women as active agents in development based on cleaner and more efficient energy systems and technologies, Investments in women as energy managers and entrepreneurs to simultaneously address the multiple challenges of poverty eradication, gender equality, environmental conservation and finally, Removal of constraints limiting the ability of women to take advantage of business opportunities offered by new energy options, including legal barriers that limit their property rights, land tenure, and access to credit.

Measuring the success of these propositions against the final draft resolution of the Rio +20 negotiations agreed upon by member states, the actual gains were marginal. In their final statement on Rio +20, the women’s major group expressed disappointment. The document failed to capture the aspirations of  the group.

The resolution (127) in general reaffirmed support for the implementation of national and subnational policies and strategies, based on individual national circumstances and development aspirations, using an appropriate energy mix to meet developmental needs, including through increased use of renewable energy sources and other low-emission technologies, the more efficient use of energy, greater reliance on advanced energy technologies, including cleaner fossil fuel technologies, and the sustainable use of traditional energy resources. Member states committed to promoting sustainable modern energy services for all through national and subnational efforts, inter alia, on electrification and dissemination of sustainable cooking and heating solutions, including through collaborative actions to share best practices and adopt policies, as appropriate. They also urged governments to create enabling environments that facilitate public and private sector investment in relevant and needed cleaner energy technologies.

However, it did not implicitly safeguard womens’ access to renewable energy sources and also failed to promote cleaner and healthier energy options targeting women and children.

Further resources:

UN.org

womenrio20.org

25th May 2012
Multi-Link group has once again been commended for excellence at the just concluded Gala Night for Jitihada Awards, scooping second runners up in Nairobi, held at Laico Regency Hotel.

Jitihada is a brand name for the Kenya National Business Plan Competition, a Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Competition project funded by the World Bank. The primary aim of the project is to increase productivity and employment in the MSME sector in Kenya.

Washington, DC (May 4, 2012) – China today announced that it is formally joining the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, an innovative public-private partnership that brings together more than 350 stakeholders to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and combat climate change by creating a thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions.

China’s announcement comes during a visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to Beijing. Secretary Clinton, who launched the Alliance in September 2010, is a staunch supporter of increasing the global adoption of making clean cooking solutions available to women worldwide and all efforts that seek to reduce the tremendous toll cookstove smoke takes on women around the world. China is the 33rd country to join the Alliance since its inception.

Exposure to smoke from traditional cook stoves and open fires – the primary means of cooking and heating for 3 billion people in developing countries – causes almost 2 million premature deaths annually, with women and young children affected most.

The majority of China’s rural population, over 800 million people, relies on solid fuels (biomass and coal) for household cooking and heating. According to the World Health Organization, this accounts for more than 380,000 premature deaths annually.

“We welcome China’s leadership role in the Alliance,” says Radha Muthiah, Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. Their participation is a testament to the country’s long-standing commitment to addressing this devastating health and environmental problem and a tremendous boost to a global effort to foster the universal adoption of clean cooking solutions by making them more accessible and affordable to those who most need them.”

The Alliance’s ‘100 by 20’ goal calls for the adoption of clean cooking solutions in 100 million households by the year 2020. China’s role in this global effort will result in greater collaboration on research and testing, support for the development of robust efficiency and emission standards, and transformative approaches to manufacturing cleaner cookstoves. China will play an essential role in making the Alliance’s goal of universal adoption a reality.

China’s determination to tackle environmental and health problems associated with cooking on traditional cookstoves goes back decades. In the early 1980s, China launched the National Improved Stove Program (NISP), the world’s largest publicly financed initiative to improve cookstove efficiency.

China’s domestic cookstoves industry is one of the world’s largest, with over 100 domestic manufacturers. Chinese manufacturers are experts in stove design, efficiency, and lowered emissions. China’s participation in the Global Alliance opens many avenues for collaboration between Chinese and stove experts worldwide.

“China’s experience in the sector makes it a clear leader among national implementing partners of the Alliance,” adds Muthiah. “Its leadership in manufacturing and exporting clean cookstoves, coupled with its potential role in stoves research and standards, makes it an ideal partner to help lead outreach efforts in Asia and ultimately scale up adoption of clean cooking solutions worldwide.”