When a hospital in Uganda fell behind on paying its electricity bills, the cost became huge: hundreds of patients -- including infants -- paid with their lives. Human rights lawyer David Kabanda is pursuing legal against the company, the energy regulator and the solicitor general, arguing that the decision to cut power denied these people their right to life, which is protected under the Uganda constitution. In making the case for the right to energy, David discusses why people need to be literate about their rights -- and about energy itself.

Making a Case for the Right to Energy

Much work focusing on access to energy as a basic human right aims to establish minimum levels of energy supply or find ways to bring down consumption and costs. This podcast shifts the discussion to social dimensions of energy deprivation, with in-depth exploration of the concepts of ‘energy justice’ and the ‘capabilities approach’. In much existing human rights law, the preamble specifically mentions the goal of enabling people to have ‘a dignified life.’ This topic sparked a great deal of interest at the COST ENGAGER event entitled “Co-Creating the Right to Energy from Theory to Practice.” Listen in to hear from Dr. Katrin Grossman, Jade Munroe, Irene Pijuan-Gonzalez and Dr. Neil Simcock.

Energy Access and the Right to a Dignified Life

Visiting homes in rural Armenia to learn about how people get and use energy is like stepping back in time.  Men collect wood and dry dung; women spend most of their days 'managing' the stove -- for heating, cooking and household chores. Alyssa Bougie, Astghine Pasoyan and Norayr Ben Ohanian talk EnAct through barriers to energy access that leave particular groups vulnerable -- as well as efforts underway to introduce new technologies and overcome old myths. 
To read more, visit EnAct's COLD@HOME website:

Tackling high rates of energy poverty in rural Armenia

In rural Armenia, people are deeply conscious of the value forests bring them. But many rely on wood and dung for heating their homes and cooking -- and deforestation is advancing at an alarming rate. Can alternative energy sources and more sustainable practices save the trees while making both men and women less 'time poor'? Listen in as Alyssa Bougie and Astghine Pasoyan give EnAct insights on new possibilities and potential barriers.

Energy in Armenia: Fuel wood and deforestation

In the Global South, lack of access to affordable energy means billions of people still do almost everything by hand -- from rolling rotis to planting, irrigating, harvesting and processing crops on small plots of land. In the first episode of a new series, co-produced with Global SDG7 Hubs and The Energy Talk, we explore the need to connect innovators and high-level policy makers. 
Decades of experience convinced Harish Hande (SELCO Foundation, India) that supplying electricity was not enough to truly transform people's lives. They needed simple but super-efficient equipment that would boost their productivity and income. To date, they've come with more than 175 innovations across the sectors most vital to marginalised people. To improve the health of these communities, they've also develop solar systems and equipment for healthcare clinics. 
Enter the policy part of the equation -- and the second guest, Gauri Singh of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Formerly a high-level bureaucrat in the Indian government, she helped set up a scheme by which 25 000 remote health clinics will be equipped with SELCO systems -- in the next three years!!! 
Across the episode, Harish and Gauri dig into topics like what innovations are needed, where policy helps or hinders, and how to build up ecosystems that support rapid deployment.

Season 4

Distributed Energy for People and the Planet: Practical Solution, Policy Action

'Fuel poverty' is the phrase coined in the 1980s by Dr. Brenda Boardman to describe the situation in which people in the UK could not afford enough energy to stay warm in winter. Often, they are forced to make difficult choices like whether to 'heat or eat'. 

Thirty years on, it is estimated that 50 million households across Europe now live in fuel -- or energy - poverty. This has prompted the European Commission to fund the EU Energy Poverty Observatory, a consortium of academics, think tanks, policy makers and social organizations. 

A 30-min interview with Dr. Boardman is a great primer for anyone new to this topic. For more information, visit EnAct's website COLD@HOME: www.coldathome.today

Fixing Fuel Poverty - Dr. Brenda Boardman

SELCO Foundation (Bangalore, India) is well known for its successful efforts to bring sustainable energy to the poorest people in India. Recognizing that they learned a LOT from mistakes along the way, the Foundation hosted in early 2018 the 'Impact Failure Conclave', inviting others to share openly about times when projects failed. Here, Harish Hande and Thomas Pullenkav dissect two big failures in the SELCO journey: a change in direction that almost left them bankrupt and a scale-up attempt that tanked. SELCO not only survived, it is now thriving: listen in to find out how they recovered.

SELCO Impact Failure Conclave: Recovering from Mission Failure - Harish Hande & Thomas Pullenkav

Coming from India's lowest castes, Anshu Gupta and Bezwada Wilson grew up desperately poor and surrounded by people who accepted that fate had determined their place in society. Both are now recognised leaders in social impact initiatives that are changing the lives of thousands. Through GOONJ, Anshu uses goods donated to charity as currency to empower the poor to solve their own problems. Under Bezwada's direction, Safai Karmachari Andolan is working to eradicate the practice of 'manual scavenging' -- a polite way to say cleaning toilets and sewers. Against multiple political, social and personal challenges, both have worked through failures on the road to success. Brilliant stories well worth a listen!

SELCO Impact Failure Conclave: Lifting up the Poorest - Anshu Gupta & Bezwada Wilson

When running a non-profit organisation that aimed to help the poorest people in India start small businesses to earn a living, Vijay Mahajan quickly recognised a gaping hole: access to credit. Together with MS Sriram, he adapted the Grameen Bank's micro-credit model to the Indian context and launched BASIX, which provided both financing and training. Rapid success attracted interest in micro-lending as a business opportunity -- and left BASIX struggling to navigate the evolution of an industry it helped create. A fascinating discussion of what counts as failure and what one can claim as success.

SELCO Impact Failure Conclave: Micro-credit for Livelihoods in India - Vijay Mahajan & MS Sriram

Committed funders underpin many social impact initiatives -- particularly those willing to measure success in ways other than a financial returns. Yet funders face their own challenges and, indeed, their own failures. Jeffrey Prins from the IKEA Foundation and Philip Varnum of the Lemelson Foundation share their experiences and talk about what they might do differently going forward.

SELCO Impact Failure Conclave: When Funders Fail - Philip Varnum & Jeffrey Prins

Across developing countries, some 3 billion people still use traditional cooking method -- a three-stone fire pit and fuels such as wood, charcoal, dung and kerosene. For decades, governments and NGOs have been trying to get improved or clean cookstoves into such households. We talk to two long-term participants about why this is the chronic failure in the social impact sector.

SELCO: Impact Failure Conclave: Why Clean Cooking is a Chronic Failure - Veena Joshi & Priya Karve

The EU Green Deal calls for a just, clean energy transition, recognising that decarbonising the 27 economies will carry heavy costs -- not least because 97% of buildings need some level of energy renovation. The Deal also makes a commitment to 'leave no one behind.' In its first podcast, Renovate Europe invites Louise Sunderland of the Regulatory Assistance Project to talk about her recent research, which shows that using carbon revenues to fix the homes of low-income families delivers better returns than  existing stop-gap measure to reduce the impacts of energy poverty. Louise also brings the perspective of volunteering at a community energy cooperative in South London that provides services to low-income households. With host Marilyn Smith of the Energy Action Project, the podcast digs into topics that need to be considered in launching a 'Renovation Wave' across the EU.

Leveraging Carbon Revenues in the EU Energy Renovation Wave: Louise Sunderland

Calls to have access to energy recognised as a basic human right are gaining momentum, not least through the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the European Green Deal.  
In this first podcast of a new series, EnAct speaks to Marlies Hesselman, Lecturer at the University of Groningen, about what it would take to reach that goal and hear about progress towards it.  Much to learn from listening in -- most importantly the range of existing precedents on which to build new cases! 
With financial support from the ENGAGER network, EnAct launches a series of four podcasts based on a conference entitled "Co-Creating the Right to Energy in Theory and Practice".  
A network of researchers investigating energy poverty, ENGAGER is funded by COST (European Cooperation in Science & Technology)through the European Commission. The aim of COST is enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with peers.

Energy Access as a Basic Human Right

In this second podcast examining access to energy as a basic human right, we probe the work of Dr. Chian-Weoi Shyu, an associate professor at the National Chung Cheng University in Taiwan. After completing energy access field work in remote areas of China and Tibet, Chian-Weoi set himself the challenge of -- with the mindset of a policy maker -- thinking systematically about how to implement the right to energy.  Listen in as Chian-Weoi explains the five fundamental rights and three supplement rights he believes government should work towards to empower their citizens in relation to energy.

The Right to Energy: A Policy Framework

Energy underpins everything everyone does, every day. Yet 3.2 billion people on the planet, primarily in Africa and Asia, still have no access to modern energy - or are said to live in a state of 'energy poverty'.  

In other countries, people are disadvantaged by energy systems that are unreliable or energy prices being unaffordable.  

EnAct investigates why energy poverty persists in different contexts, and explores solutions being rolled out in the areas of technology, policy, business and financing.  

EnAct

Popular tracks