Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Global Dimension of Universal Access to Energy

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Renewable Energy for Unleashing Sustainable Development

Abstract

The development of human society has been marked all throughout history by the role of energy resources. The importance of energy in the global scenario has constantly risen and the interconnections with the environment and society have become more evident. The need to fight both poverty through eradication of energy insufficiency and to increase access to modern energy service is recognized worldwide. The designation of Year 2012 as the International Year for Sustainable Energy for All and the subsequent Sustainable Energy for All initiative [1] promoted by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to foster access to energy, energy efficiency and renewable energies has raised awareness in the international agenda on these issues and has opened a wide window on the problem for the coming decades. The size of the problem and some of the key challenges are discussed in the chapter.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    tonne of oil equivalent (toe) is the amount of energy released by burning one tonne of crude oil, approximately 42 GJ.

References

  1. Sustainable Energy for All (2011) Sustainable energy for all, a vision statement by Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General. Available at http://www.sustainableenergyforall.org/resources

  2. Overcoming Human Poverty: UNDP Poverty Report (2000) United nations development program. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  3. IEA (2012) World energy outlook 2012. OECD/IEA, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  4. Human Development Report 1990 (1990) United nations development program. Oxford University, New York Press

    Google Scholar 

  5. IEA (2004) World energy outlook 2004. OECD/IEA, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  6. IEA (2009) Key world energy statistics 2009. OECD/IEA, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  7. IEA (2012) Key world energy statistics 2012. OECD/IEA, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  8. BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2011 (2011). BP, London, UK. www.bp.com/statisticalreview. Accessed 16 June 2013

  9. Colombo E, Mandelli S (2012) Facts and figures. A reasoned approach. In: Ortigosa PR, Colombo E (eds) Access to energy. Focus on Africa. EDIPLAN, Milan, Italy

    Google Scholar 

  10. World Bank (2012) World development indicators 2012. World Bank Publications, Washington. http://books.google.it/books?id=6iq8imUEOm4C

  11. Mathers C, Fat DM, Boerma J (2008) The global burden of disease: 2004 update. World Health Organization, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  12. Smith KR, Mehta S, Maeusezahl-Feuz M (2004) Indoor air pollution from household use of solid fuels. In: Comparative quantification of health risks: global and regional burden of disease attributable to selected major risk factors, vol 2. World Health Organization, Geneva. pp 1435–1493

    Google Scholar 

  13. Fuel for life: household energy and health (2006) World health organization (WHO), WHO press, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  14. Victor D (2005) The effects of power sector reform on energy services for the poor. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development, New York

    Google Scholar 

  15. del Río P, Burguillo M (2008) Assessing the impact of renewable energy deployment on local sustainability: towards a theoretical framework. Renew Sustain Energ Rev 12(5):1325–1344. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2007.03.004

  16. Mwampamba TH, Ghilardi A, Sander K, Chaix KJ (2013) Dispelling common misconceptions to improve attitudes and policy outlook on charcoal in developing countries. Energ Sustain Dev 17 (2):75–85. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2013.01.001

  17. Cuvilas CA, Jirjis R, Lucas C (2010) Energy situation in Mozambique: a review. Renew Sustain Energ Rev 14(7):2139–2146. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2010.02.002

  18. Chidumayo EN, Gumbo DJ (2013) The environmental impacts of charcoal production in tropical ecosystems of the world: a synthesis. Energ Sustain Dev 17(2):86–94. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2012.07.004

  19. Bandyopadhyay S, Shyamsundar P, Baccini A (2011) Forests, biomass use and poverty in Malawi. Ecol Econ 70(12):2461–2471. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2011.08.003

    Google Scholar 

  20. Arnold M, Köhlin G, Persson R, Shepherd G (2003) Fuelwood revisited. What has changed in the last decade? Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Jakarta, Indonesia

    Google Scholar 

  21. Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on sustainability requirements for the use of solid and gaseous biomass sources in electricity, heating and cooling SEC(2010) 65 final SEC(2010) 66 final. (2010). European Commission

    Google Scholar 

  22. Impacts of Bioenergy on Food Security (2012) Guidance for assessment and response at national and project levels. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome

    Google Scholar 

  23. IEA (2011) World energy outlook 2011. International Energy Agency (IEA)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Shyu C-W End-users’. Experiences with electricity supply from stand-alone mini-grid solar PV power stations in rural areas of western China. Energ Sustain Dev 0 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2013.02.006

  25. Lahimer AA, Alghoul MA, Yousif F, Razykov TM, Amin N, Sopian K (2013) Research and development aspects on decentralized electrification options for rural household. Renew Sustain Energ Rev 24(0):314–324. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.03.057

  26. Suberu MY, Mustafa MW, Bashir N, Muhamad NA, Mokhtar AS (2013) Power sector renewable energy integration for expanding access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. Renew Sustain Energ Rev 25(0):630–642. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.04.033

  27. Welsch M, Bazilian M, Howells M, Divan D, Elzinga D, Strbac G, Jones L, Keane A, Gielen D, Balijepalli VSKM, Brew-Hammond A, Yumkella K (2013) Smart and Just grids for sub-Saharan Africa: exploring options. Renew Sustain Energ Rev 20(0):336–352. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.11.004

  28. Adkins E, Chen J, Winiecki J, Koinei P, Modi V (2010) Testing institutional biomass cookstoves in rural Kenyan schools for the Millennium Villages Project. Energ Sustain Dev 14(3):186–193. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2010.07.002

  29. Smeenk J, Brown RC, Yang H, Yin F, Zhang Y (2013) Development of a fluidized bed Gasifier system for cooking gas in rural China. www.nrbp.org/papers/040.pdf. Accessed 28 June 2013

  30. Laramee J, Davis J (2013) Economic and environmental impacts of domestic bio-digesters: evidence from Arusha, Tanzania. Energ Sustain Dev 17(3):296–304. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2013.02.001

  31. Colombo E, Mandelli S, Cassetti G, Berizzi A, Bovo, C (2012) Access to energy: mini integrated renewable energy systems for facing the technical problem. In: Tech4Dev international conference, Lausanne, Switzerland, 29–31 May 2012

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Energy, UNESCO Chair in Energy for Sustainable Development, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Emanuela Colombo, Lorenzo Mattarolo & Stefano Mandelli

Authors
  1. Emanuela Colombo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lorenzo Mattarolo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Stefano Mandelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emanuela Colombo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Energy, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy

    Emanuela Colombo

  2. UN Industrial Development Organization, Vienna, Austria

    Stefano Bologna

  3. UN Industrial Development Organization, Vienna, Austria

    Diego Masera

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Colombo, E., Mattarolo, L., Mandelli, S. (2013). Global Dimension of Universal Access to Energy. In: Colombo, E., Bologna, S., Masera, D. (eds) Renewable Energy for Unleashing Sustainable Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00284-2_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00284-2_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-00283-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-00284-2

  • eBook Packages: EnergyEnergy (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation