11.1 Introduction
Renewable energy technologies can provide energy to rural populations to which it
is technically or economically infeasible to extend the electricity grid. Electricity
can be used for applications ranging from lighting to a wide array of productive uses
to energy services supporting health, education, and sanitation. Current research has
mainly focused on the impacts and case studies of DRE on poverty alleviation and
sustainable development.
Climate change adaptation is necessary due to the adverse impacts of increasingly frequent extreme weather events. The poorest and most vulnerable
populations within developing countries suffer the worst effects of extreme weather
events, especially populations in which natural resource bases are fundamental for
their livelihoods (Adger et al. 2003; Thomas and Twyman 2005). The United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2007/2008 Human Development
Report (HDR) first emphasized the importance of adaptation integrated with development since ‘adaptation is about development for all’ (UNDP 2007). Therefore,
failure to address adaptation will deter developing countries from growing economically and alleviating poverty (UNDP 2007).
Adaptation literature has focused on specific topics that include crop diversification (Bradshaw et al. 2004; Naylor et al. 2007), insurance (Crichton 2007,
Linnerooth-Bayer and Mechler 2006; Mills 2007; Moser et al. 2007; Romilly
2007; Johnson et al. 2007), the ski industry, and flood risk management (Johnson
et al. 2007; Tol et al. 2003). However, there is scant literature on the use of
renewable energy to increase adaptive capacity. Eriksen and O’Brien (2007) and
Venema and Rehman (2007) hypothesize DRE may be one strategy to meet the
triple objective, although they don’t provide in-depth details on how this will
happen.
The role of renewable energy systems to meet climate change mitigation goals
has been well documented (CEPAL 2007a,b). Market-based policy instruments
have been created to mitigate climate change without sustainable development
objectives always being met. For example, ocal, small-scale renewable energy
projects, which have a larger development component, haven’t been main participants within CDM project portfolios, while they have figured more prominently
under Voluntary Carbon Offset (VCO) initiatives. As such, VCO projects include
have a greater focus on development objectives than the CDM. Even though rural
development projects have been included within the CDM, there is a need to create
a clear set of guidelines to effectively incorporate sustainable development objectives into the projects.
The use of DRE is the only cost-effective and environmentally sound option to
provide access to electricity to many rural populations. Only recently has energy
access been viewed as a necessary, though not sufficient, enabler for development,
including the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and now
of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The lack of basic infrastructure,
including energy, has prevented some countries from achieving the MDG’s in rural
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D. Ley
Renewable energy technologies can provide energy to rural populations to which it
is technically or economically infeasible to extend the electricity grid. Electricity
can be used for applications ranging from lighting to a wide array of productive uses
to energy services supporting health, education, and sanitation. Current research has
mainly focused on the impacts and case studies of DRE on poverty alleviation and
sustainable development.
Climate change adaptation is necessary due to the adverse impacts of increasingly frequent extreme weather events. The poorest and most vulnerable
populations within developing countries suffer the worst effects of extreme weather
events, especially populations in which natural resource bases are fundamental for
their livelihoods (Adger et al. 2003; Thomas and Twyman 2005). The United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2007/2008 Human Development
Report (HDR) first emphasized the importance of adaptation integrated with development since ‘adaptation is about development for all’ (UNDP 2007). Therefore,
failure to address adaptation will deter developing countries from growing economically and alleviating poverty (UNDP 2007).
Adaptation literature has focused on specific topics that include crop diversification (Bradshaw et al. 2004; Naylor et al. 2007), insurance (Crichton 2007,
Linnerooth-Bayer and Mechler 2006; Mills 2007; Moser et al. 2007; Romilly
2007; Johnson et al. 2007), the ski industry, and flood risk management (Johnson
et al. 2007; Tol et al. 2003). However, there is scant literature on the use of
renewable energy to increase adaptive capacity. Eriksen and O’Brien (2007) and
Venema and Rehman (2007) hypothesize DRE may be one strategy to meet the
triple objective, although they don’t provide in-depth details on how this will
happen.
The role of renewable energy systems to meet climate change mitigation goals
has been well documented (CEPAL 2007a,b). Market-based policy instruments
have been created to mitigate climate change without sustainable development
objectives always being met. For example, ocal, small-scale renewable energy
projects, which have a larger development component, haven’t been main participants within CDM project portfolios, while they have figured more prominently
under Voluntary Carbon Offset (VCO) initiatives. As such, VCO projects include
have a greater focus on development objectives than the CDM. Even though rural
development projects have been included within the CDM, there is a need to create
a clear set of guidelines to effectively incorporate sustainable development objectives into the projects.
The use of DRE is the only cost-effective and environmentally sound option to
provide access to electricity to many rural populations. Only recently has energy
access been viewed as a necessary, though not sufficient, enabler for development,
including the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and now
of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The lack of basic infrastructure,
including energy, has prevented some countries from achieving the MDG’s in rural
188
D. Ley