Publication year: 2011
Source: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 3, Issue 4, September 2011, Pages 248-253

Gisela Prasad

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the lowest access levels to electricity and modern cooking fuels’ although the region has large energy resources. The electricity generation capacity of the region, with a population of 800 million, is 68 gigawatt, comparable to that of Spain with a population of 45 million. Projecting present electrification rates and population growth rates more people in sub-Saharan Africa will be without electricity in 2030 than in 2009. The major problems of the electricity sector are low consumption levels, high electricity cost, unequal access, unreliable supply, and power shortages. To increase access to electricity the performance of the sector has to be improved in areas of governance, access to finance, and increasing regional trade. At the same time, income levels of the poor have to rise.Eighty percent of the sub-Saharan population still cook with woodfuels on open fires because they have no access to modern fuels or cannot afford them. This leads to high levels of indoor air pollution, responsible for 4.2 child deaths per 1000 population from pneumonia, compared to 1.8 child deaths in South Asia. Kerosene is the most common modern cooking fuel and 7% of the sub-Saharan population use it. Since traditional woodfuels play a very dominant part in the energy balance of sub-Saharan Africa, the modernisation of the woodfuel industry and woodfuel markets, together with improved cookstoves, would bring development benefits for the 80% of the population who rely on them.

Highlights

â–º Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest electricity access levels of 31% compared to other developing regions. Access ranges from 100% in Mauritius to 3% in Burundi. â–º To address access to electricity, performance in the following policy areas has to improve: governance of state-owned utilities, finance and increasing regional electricity trade. â–º 80% of the population still rely on wood and charcoal for cooking because they have no access to modern fuels and if they have access they cannot afford them. â–º The woodfuel sector could significantly contribute to development of the poorest section of the population if it were modernised, decentralised and efficiently managed. â–º The dissemination of improved cookstoves should be an urgent policy priority to lessen health impacts of open cooking fires on women and children.

Publication year: 2011
Source: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 3, Issue 4, September 2011, Pages iii

[No author name available]

Publication year: 2011
Source: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Available online 9 September 2011

IJM de Boer, C Cederberg, S Eady, S Gollnow, T Kristensen, ...

The animal food chain contributes significantly to emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs). We explored studies that addressed options to mitigate GHG emissions in the animal production chain and concluded that most studies focused on production systems in developed countries and on a single GHG. They did not account for the complex interrelated effects on other GHGs or their relation with other aspects of sustainability, such as eutrophication, animal welfare, land use or food security. Current decisions on GHG mitigation in animal production, therefore, are hindered by the complexity and uncertainty of the combined effect of GHG mitigation options on climate change and their relation with other aspects of sustainability. There is an urgent need to integrate simulation models at animal, crop and farm level with a consequential life cycle sustainability assessment to gain insight into the multidimensional and sometimes conflicting consequences of GHG mitigation options.

Highlights

â–º Most studies that address options to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the animal production focus on systems in developed countries and on a single GHG. â–º Current decisions on GHG mitigation in animal production are hindered by the complexity and uncertainty of the combined effect of GHG mitigation options on climate change and their relation with other aspects of sustainability. â–º There is an urgent need to integrate simulation models at animal, crop and farm level with a consequential life cycle sustainability assessment to gain insight into the multidimensional and sometimes conflicting consequences of GHG mitigation options.

Publication year: 2011
Source: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 3, Issue 4, September 2011, Pages 218-224

Benjamin K Sovacool

This article explores how the security of energy services and uses differs according to the socio-demographic nature of households. The article begins by defining energy services and distinguishing them from primary energy, end-use energy, and useful energy. It then proposes an ‘energy services ladder’ that tracks the primary fuels and technologies, services and end-uses they provide, and broader driving factors associated with energy use at lower-income, middle-income, and upper-income households, with energy security vulnerabilities. The article does not analyze rural energy services, energy services for commercial firms or industries, indirect energy services, or potential gains from future energy transitions. The final part of the article offers implications for energy policy and energy studies.

Highlights

► An ‘energy services ladder’ can track primary fuels and technologies, services and end-uses provided to households. ► Lower-income, middle-income, and upper-income households use energy services differently. ► They therefore have distinct energy services security needs.