Paying Africa’s people to produce all the renewable energy they can would give the continent a huge economic boost, spurring development and the growth of democracy, researchers say.

© Nathalie Bertrams

Africa can go a long way towards lifting itself out of poverty and ending its chronic shortage of energy by using its own resources, a report says.

The report, entitled Powering Africa through Feed-in Tariffs – advancing renewable energies to meet the continent’s electricity needs, says renewable energy feed-in tariff policies (REFiTs) can unlock renewable energy development in Africa. REFiTs encourage investment in generating renewable energy – by individual home owners and communities as well as institutional investors – by guaranteeing to buy all the electricity produced from renewable sources. [Read more →]

Matt Mellen, Campaign Director of Trillion Fund, explains how community ownership of renewable energy projects allows people to consolidate their position, get a better deal and build up resilience to future shocks.

© BedZED low carbon community, UK

Contemporary capitalism has resulted in a concentration of wealth and power at the top of multi-national corporations and in the hands of a few ultra-influential individuals. Today, decisions about the fundamentals of how we live, eat and power our homes are often made in boardrooms many miles from where we live – quite possibly in another country.   [Read more →]

The future of renewable energies is a fundamental choice, not a foregone conclusion of technological and economic trends.

© World Future Energy Summit

This is one of the key messages of the Global Futures Report that REN21 launched in Abu Dhabi at the World Future Energy Summit. But the key question remains: Are we managing to make the right choice in time?

Along with 30,000 energy experts, the World Future Council and I start 2013 in Abu Dhabi at the first Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. While I am discussing the future of our energy system with representatives from governments, regulators, the private sector, international organisations and civil society, daily news remind and warn me of the huge challenges we are facing. [Read more →]