Southeast Asia’s Energiewende is already underway, albeit it needs to be sped up and its ambitions increased. There is a regional understanding that the transition to renewables must occur but serious work to translate this vision into reality remains missing. Policy, however, is not attuned to this need to accelerate. Energy generation is still with the hands of energy elites. Laurence L. Delina explores the potential for a just and accelerated Energiewende in this world region as first part of our Southeast Asia Series. What could Southeast Asia as a regional grouping do to facilitate this grand vision?
All posts tagged: Energy Poverty
A New Approach for Electrifying Africa with Clean Energy
The leading lights of wunderkind firm Mobisol, a Berlin start-up, left the company to found their own research institute. They still believe that the private sector has a key role in bringing solar power to Africa and the developing world. Paul Hockenos reports
Heatwaves hurt the poor most: time for an EU plan
Recurring heatwaves across Europe have been most devastating for the poor. New EU institutions have a mandate to make Europe’s energy transition a just one, but this can only be done if a European Marshall plan is implemented to fight climate change and protect the vulnerable, writes Yamina Saheb.
Latin America sticks to the status quo at COP 24
The 24th Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP24) was meant as a time for countries to review and fix the measures of the Paris Agreement. To have any chance to stay below 1.5 ° C and avoid the worst impacts of climate change, countries must commit to drastic greenhouse gas cuts by 2020. Max Proaño takes a look at goals from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Costa Rica.
Energy Community sets stage for clean energy transition in South-East Europe
While the European Union has been busy with the new Clean Energy Package, some important developments are also taking place in South-East Europe, where the Energy Community Treaty operates. Journalist and energy expert Oleg Savitsky attended explains how policymakers are trying to transform the energy markets of the EU’s neighbourhood.
Cape Town in crisis
Cape Town is dealing with one of the biggest climate change-linked water crises to face a modern city. This should serve as our wake-up call: we must transition to a new, shared way of organising around increasingly stretched resources, writes Leonie Joubert.
High German power prices, low monthly bills?
According to the most recent data, German retail power rates are the highest in the EU along with Denmark’s. The monthly power bill is, however, exaggerated in reports. Craig Morris investigates.
Solar supports village livelihoods and spurs business in Fiji
Reliable solar-powered refrigerators are creating economic opportunities for remote, rural towns in Fiji. Something as cheap and easy as solar panels and batteries can change people’s lives, the IRENA newsroom reports.
Is 330,00 German households without power a lot?
Last year, 330,000 households in Germany had their power cut off because bills had not been paid. Ideally, the number would be zero. But is the number high in comparison to other countries? Craig Morris investigates.
For many in Puerto Rico, ‘energy dominance’ is just a new name for US colonialism
The Trump administration has insisted on ‘energy dominance’ as its main goal, focusing on fossil fuels at the expense of renewable energies like wind and solar. For Puerto Ricans, however, energy dominance sounds more like expansionism. Catalina M. de Onís explains the history of oil and power between the US and Puerto Rico.