A recent desk study published jointly by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the African Union, Review of Woodfuel Biomass Production and Utilization in Africa, takes stock of the current situation and proposes policies and strategies for Member States to accelerate the transition to renewable energy sources.
A Swiss impact asset manager, responsAbility, has announced the first close of its new energy access fund. The private debt fund addresses the lack of access to clean power globally with a strong focus on sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia.
By William Minter, Editor of AfricaFocus Bulletin This article was originally published in Foreign Policy in Focus on December 5, 2019. Just before this year’s global climate summit opened in Madrid recently, researchers announced that emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels will hit a record high in 2019. Although the 0.6 percent rate of…
On December 10th, International Human Rights Day, stakeholders in the last mile solar energy distribution sector convened to spotlight energy access as a human right. The event marked the U.S. launch of The Global Distributors Collective’s (GDC) inaugural Last Mile Distribution: State of the Sector Report. It was an inspiring night to talk about unlocking…
By Emma Colenbrander, Head of the Global Distributors Collective Products like solar lights, solar home systems and improved cookstoves and fuels are an important piece of addressing energy poverty, particularly in last mile markets. These products—and other beneficial household products like water filters and agricultural tools—enable progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals more rapidly…
In October Sustainable Energy for All (SEForAll) released their 2019 Energizing Finance Report, a two-part report series that shines a light on financial investments in the electricity sector between 2015-2017. Overall, the report showed that while the sector is experiencing all-time high investments, commitments are still well below what’s needed to achieve universal energy access by…