World nations failing the poorest on energy goals: study by Staff Writers Washington (AFP) May 22, 2019 More than 150 million people are gaining access to electricity every year, reducing the ranks of those who live without power, but this is not enough to meet global development goals, according to a report released Wednesday. Furthermore, efforts to cut pollution from cooking food and promote renewable power for heat and transportation are likewise far behind the goals that world nations set in 2015, according to the report produced by the World Bank and other international bodies. Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, which jointly produced the report, said the findings were a call to action. "I am particularly concerned by the dramatic lack of access to reliable, modern and sustainable energy in certain parts of the world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, a region where we need to really concentrate our efforts," Birol said in a statement. In 2015, all United Nations member states adopted 17 goals for sustainable development by 2030 in areas such as education, climate, and gender equality as well as access to energy. The goals call for delivering universal access to energy, increasing the use of renewable energy and doubling the pace of gains in efficiency, among other objectives. But with 11 years to go, according to the report released Wednesday, signs still point to failure. About 89 percent of the world had access to electricity as of 2017, up from 83 percent in 2010, with notable recent progress made in Bangladesh, Kenya and Myanmar, according to the report. But if governments do not make faster progress, 650 million will still live in the dark by 2030, 90 percent of whom will be in Sub-Saharan Africa, it said. Furthermore, about three billion people, mainly in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, had no access to clean cooking in 2017, resulting in serious health problems -- a figure that had barely budged over the prior seven years. On current trends, 2.2 billion should still be in this situation by 2030, according to the report. Meanwhile, the share of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power in the overall mix hit 17.5 percent in 2016, a sluggish increase from the 16.6 percent recorded in 2010. But only nine percent of heat came from renewable sources in 2017 and just 3.3 percent energy used in transport -- and in the United States and Brazil most of this came from biofuels. The report was also jointly produced with the International Renewable Energy Agency, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Statistics Division.
Czech power group CEZ ups profit, sales on higher output Prague (AFP) May 14, 2019 Czech state-run power group CEZ said Tuesday it had raised both profits and sales in the first quarter on higher power prices and increased output in its two nuclear plants. Net profits rose by 14 percent against a year ago to 8.3 billion koruna (322 million euros, $362 million) and sales jumped by 12 percent to 51.8 billion koruna, CEZ said in a statement. CEZ, which has plants in Bulgaria, Germany, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey, as well as planning for a wind park in France, is Europe's ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |