areas, while meeting them in the urban sector. As in the case of the MDG’s, energy
serves as an enabler for the achievement of other goals under the SDG’s. Additionally, SDG 7 addresses the energy sector specifically by ‘ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all’. The linkage with climate
change comes in SDG 13, which calls to ‘take urgent action to combat climate
change and its impacts’.
My research examines the relationships between sustainable development, climate change and renewable energy in rural Central America. The main research
question I answer is ‘Can rural renewable energy projects simultaneously meet
the multiple goals of sustainable development, climate change mitigation and
climate change adaptation? If so, under what conditions?’ and I use three
guiding questions:
1. How well are RE projects meeting their goals of sustainable development,
climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation?
2. What are the relative roles of local historical background and physical characteristics, type of community governance, and funding source and project implementation process in the success of projects in meeting adaptation, mitigation
and development goals?
3. What are the challenges in integrating development and climate change adaptation policies in rural Central America? How might the evolving international
climate regime contribute to this integration?
I also look at how the climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation and
sustainable development mainstreaming and integration can take place. For this
research, and as defined by Sperling, mainstreaming indicates that climate issues
are being used for planning and budgeting decision making while integration is
used when specific adaptation measures are added to design and implementation
strategies (Sperling 2003). That is, mainstreaming includes climate change considerations, that go beyond adaptation, from the outset during project planning.
11.2 Approach
I used the political ecology approach to assess the importance of, and relationships
between, political economy, social and community structures, local historical
backgrounds and the use of natural resources. The approach provides a useful
framework for evaluating rural renewable energy projects, focusing on institutions
(such as common property resources), markets, local response to development
interventions and to the material effects of development on the physical environment (for example, water, soil, and carbon).
Political ecology studies of Latin America are mostly related to the relationship
between poverty and environmental degradation: poverty and conservation efforts
in protected areas, development, land degradation, wildlife and livelihoods, land
use change, land use and food security, shrimp mariculture and fisheries, and
11 Sustainable Development, Climate Change, and Renewable Energy in Rural. . .
189
serves as an enabler for the achievement of other goals under the SDG’s. Additionally, SDG 7 addresses the energy sector specifically by ‘ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all’. The linkage with climate
change comes in SDG 13, which calls to ‘take urgent action to combat climate
change and its impacts’.
My research examines the relationships between sustainable development, climate change and renewable energy in rural Central America. The main research
question I answer is ‘Can rural renewable energy projects simultaneously meet
the multiple goals of sustainable development, climate change mitigation and
climate change adaptation? If so, under what conditions?’ and I use three
guiding questions:
1. How well are RE projects meeting their goals of sustainable development,
climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation?
2. What are the relative roles of local historical background and physical characteristics, type of community governance, and funding source and project implementation process in the success of projects in meeting adaptation, mitigation
and development goals?
3. What are the challenges in integrating development and climate change adaptation policies in rural Central America? How might the evolving international
climate regime contribute to this integration?
I also look at how the climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation and
sustainable development mainstreaming and integration can take place. For this
research, and as defined by Sperling, mainstreaming indicates that climate issues
are being used for planning and budgeting decision making while integration is
used when specific adaptation measures are added to design and implementation
strategies (Sperling 2003). That is, mainstreaming includes climate change considerations, that go beyond adaptation, from the outset during project planning.
11.2 Approach
I used the political ecology approach to assess the importance of, and relationships
between, political economy, social and community structures, local historical
backgrounds and the use of natural resources. The approach provides a useful
framework for evaluating rural renewable energy projects, focusing on institutions
(such as common property resources), markets, local response to development
interventions and to the material effects of development on the physical environment (for example, water, soil, and carbon).
Political ecology studies of Latin America are mostly related to the relationship
between poverty and environmental degradation: poverty and conservation efforts
in protected areas, development, land degradation, wildlife and livelihoods, land
use change, land use and food security, shrimp mariculture and fisheries, and
11 Sustainable Development, Climate Change, and Renewable Energy in Rural. . .
189