I was in Nairobi last week for the launch of the Africa hub of the STEPS Global Consortium. During the three day event, I learned a great deal about developments in low carbon energy from across the continent. Reflecting on last week’s launch, I’ve felt a growing sense of excitement at the different forms of…
Pro-poor, low carbon energy conversations across the STEPS global consortium
Knowledge is power: towards Low Carbon Energy in Africa
The G7 have promised to phase out fossil fuel emissions by the end of the century. Though a long-term target, it’s the first time a proper date has been set for a decarbonised economy for this group of industrialised nations. It will affect the tone of the negotiations at the UN climate talks in Paris…
STEPS Africa research network to boost development in Africa planned
By Gilbert Nakweya for SciDev.net [NAIROBI] A new research and capacity building hub focusing on sustainable development issues in Africa will be established by mid this year, a meeting has heard. The STEPS Africa Sustainability Hub, which was announced during a meeting held in Kenya last year (6 November), aims to create a network of…
Building low carbon, high growth futures in Africa
An article in New Scientist magazine pubished today sets out one of the most hotly-contestated questions about increasing energy access in the global south: can low carbon techology deliver meaningful opportunities for economic growth? Author Fred Pearce, who sits on the STEPS Centre’s Advisory Committee, in unconvinced that those on either side of the low carbon argument have made a strong enough…
Guest blogpost: Andrew Barnett on low carbon development trade offs
Andrew Barnett, Director of The Policy Practice, inspired by the discussion at The Royal Society on Monday 31 March 2014 to discuss the policy implications of research on low carbon development and sustainable energy access in low-income countries, writes for the STEPS Centre blog. I very much enjoyed meeting the teams from Science and Technology Policy…
Sustainable energy for whom?
How can we move from “sustainable energy for some” towards “sustainable energy for all”, whilst promoting economic development in some of the world’s poorest nations? In a new blogpost for Politics@Warwick the STEPS Centre’s David Ockwell and Rob Byrne reveal new research that shows capacity building has been more influential than market mechanisms in the Solar Home Systems sector in Kenya. “There’s…
COP19: A push for pro-poor low carbon development
Julia Day, STEPS Centre Communications Manager All too often discussions about low carbon technologies range around the interests of high and middle income countries, but fail to factor in the needs of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). But there are compelling reasons why a broader definition of technology can help low carbon, pro-poor pathways to sustainability…
From Uncertainty in India to low carbon in Kenya: Our autumn newsletter is out now
Our autumn 2013 newsletter gives a snapshot of a few of the areas we are researching right now. A new briefing looks at how people deal with uncertainty about climate, disease or natural disasters in India, while new resources highlight pathways of pro-poor energy access in Kenya. A new policy briefing examines how science and politics must be engaged in a post-2015 framework, while…
Building pathways of pro-poor energy access
The misconception that developing countries can plump for either increasing access to energy, or low carbon development, but not both, is exploded in a paper presented by Dr Rob Byrne, STEPS Centre energy and climate change co-convenor, at the Poverty Reduction, Equity, and Growth Network’s (PEGNet) conference this week. Because conventional high carbon energy options…
TV interview: Social Innovations
Kevin Urama, executive director of the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) and Adrian Ely, STEPS Centre head of impact and engagement, talk about social innovations and prosperous societies to Kenyan TV programme, The GMK Show, June 2013. This interview was conducted as part of the Pro-poor low carbon development project.