fueling the future - Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Clean Energy Options for Rural Pakistan: Lessons from South AsiaFigure 1: Share of Population with Access to Electricity by Region10090TotalRuralUrban8070Percent6050403020100NorthAfricaSub-SaharanAfricaLatinAmericaEast AsiaSouth AsiaMiddle EastDevelopingcountriesWorldSource: J. Saghir, “The global investment challenge – financing the growth of renewableenergies in developing countries,” Renewable Energy World 8 (2005): 4, 196-211.Reliance on Traditional Fuels is a Question of ChoiceIn spite of the efforts in renewable energies, traditional use of biomasscontinues to account for the largest share of total primary energy supplyin many developing countries. 3 Nearly 2.4 billion people in developingcountries still rely on wood, agricultural residues, and dung for cookingand heating (Figure 2). Biomass accounts for a large share of totalprimary energy supply in many developing countries. In 2001, this sharewas 49 percent in Africa, 25 percent in Asia, and 18 percent in LatinAmerica. Even though biomass fuels, especially when collected, costlittle in terms of cash, they have huge social, environmental, and healthcosts. Past trends indicate that even though fossil fuels are the fuel of firstchoice for most poor people, biomass fuels are likely to remain the mainfuel of necessity. Projections show that the number of people relying onbiomass fuels will grow to 2.6 billion by 2030. 4| 171 |