Access to Energy for the Base of the - Ashoka

3. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Energy is intertwined with development needs. When
people lack access to energy, they lose an opportunity
to study or generate income, and face health problems
and constant danger. For low-income people, energy is
more than just a light at night, or a way to cook a meal.
Access to energy provides a direct benefit in terms of
poverty reduction and improved health. The UN
Millennium Project estimates the impact of providing
electricity to a rural Philippine household at $81 to $150
per month due to "improved returns on education and
wage income". 6 In Mali, 80% of households said they
hoped to start an income-generating activity when they
had a reliable power source.
The World Health Organization estimates that 1.6m
people every year die due to indoor air pollution from
cooking indoors on firewood, dung, refuse, etc. 7 Women
and girls in rural India spend an hour each day collecting
firewood for cooking. Clean cooking alternatives
improve respiratory health, reduce drudgery and leave
more time for other activities.
These impacts are not isolated to poor communities.
A recent study found that 18% of greenhouse gas
emissions are caused by ‘black carbon’ - soot from
fires. 8 When low-income people lack clean, safe energy,
it increases everyone’s risk from climate change.
Providing access to energy is at the heart of the development challenge
Access to energy has a strong
impact on development..
�Growth and income poverty reduction:
�E.g., benefit of providing electricity to a
Philipine household: $81-150 per month
�Education and gender:
�Girls in rural india spend more than one
hour per day collecting wood for cooking
�Health:
�1.6m deaths/year from toxic stove smoke
Source: Hystra analysis; Energy Services for the Millenium Development Goals UNDP
6 Energy Services for the Millennium Development Goals; UNDP
...and minimum level of development is
required to provide energy
�On the demand side, customers must:
�Have regular ability to pay
�Be ready to change some habits
�On the supply side, conditions are required:
�Rule of law, such as ability to enforce
contracts
�Supporting infrastructure, such as banks,
retail channels and roads
Figure 2 Reinforcing link between access to energy and development
7 World Health Organization; http://www.who.int/indoorair/health_impacts/burden_global/en/index.html
8 Third-World Stove Soot Is Target in Climate Fight; New York Times, April 16, 2009; http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/science/earth/16degrees.html?hp
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