Affordable Clean Energy

New Fortress Energy, Sri Lanka, and Planet Earth

The writer, a scholar and practitioner, has taught at Yale, Brandeis, Mount Holyoke (where she received tenure), Georgetown, American and other universities and colleges in the U.S. and abroad.

COLOMBO (IDN) — On September 17, New Fortress Energy (NFE), a U.S.-based energy infrastructure company, signed a momentous legal agreement with the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). The signing apparently took place in the dead of the night, at 12.06 a.m., and the foreigner who came for the signing swiftly returned to the U.S. on a flight at 2 a.m.

: Asia Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 30 September 2021

Photo: Prime Minister of Fiji addressing the UN General Assembly virtually on September 25, 2021. Source: PM's official Website.

Security Challenges We Face Are Climate and Disease, World Leaders Need to Rise Up

By Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama

Fiji Islands Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama is the current Chair of the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum. Addressing the UN General Assembly virtually on September 25, he called on the global community to embrace Fiji's vision of a better, greener, bluer and safer future for humanity.

SUVA (IDN) — The United Nations report to the UN General Assembly this year is titled “Our multilateral challenges: UN 2:0” a Common Agenda the blueprint for a future that is better, greener, and safer—and I would humbly add, “bluer”.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; OPINION; 28 September 2021

Pandemic Raises Stakes for Success of The SDGs — Private Sector Collaboration Crucial

Viewpoint by Tina Nybo Jensen*

AMSTERDAM (IDN) — In this Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we hear much about how organizations, countries and individuals are stepping up their efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda. Despite this, the reality is that the pace of action has not been quick enough, and we are already far behind on delivering the Global Goals.

: Europe Editor; OPINION; 24 September 2021

Photo: Damilola Ogunbiyi. Credit: UNDESA.

Achieving SDG7 Will Put Us on A Pathway to Net-Zero

Viewpoint by Damilola Ogunbiyi

The writer is CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and Co-Chair of UN-Energy.

VIENNA (IDN | UNDESA) — The energy transition story is a story of energy access. I’ve often said this, and it’s worth repeating. The climate crisis and the energy access crisis are intrinsically linked. The billions of people who lack access to safe, clean, and reliable electricity and cooking fuels are forced to rely on polluting means to go about their daily lives.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 02 September 2021

Photo: Alok Sharma, President of COP 26 Climate Conference. Credit: UNDESA.

Together, We Can Change the Way We Power the World

Viewpoint by Alok Sharma, President of COP 26 Climate Conference

LONDON (IDN | UNDESA) — Solar changed Neville’s life. I saw this for myself when, as UK Secretary of State for International Development, I visited his home in Kenya, and he told me how off-grid solar power was helping him to study for his degree.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 01 September 2021

Photo: The Russian President Vladimir Putin (second from left) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (third from right) at the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi Summit in 2019. Credit: Sochi Summit

Tales of Egypt's Quest for Russian Nuclear Power

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) — It was a highly unique step forward in October 2019, when during the first Russia-Africa Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi reaffirmed commitment to scale-up cooperation in various economic sectors and particularly expedite work on the special industrial zone and the construction of proposed four nuclear power plants, raising hopes for an increased power supply in Egypt.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 21 August 2021

Photo: Ms. Shefali Ghosh from Savar, near Dhaka, teaches her daugher in the kitchen. Credit: The World Bank

Affordable Clean Cooking Technology Important To Achieving Sustainable Energy Access

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) — In the Asia-Pacific region which is home to about 60 percent of the global population, some 1.6 billion people primarily rely on open fires or simple stoves fueled by kerosene, coal, or biomass such as wood, dung and agricultural residues for their daily cooking needs, that impacts on climatic change and health hazards.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 07 August 2021

Photo: Olkaria geothermal complex and power station, the first geothermal power plant in Africa located in Nairobi, Kenya.

Energy Will Play a Critical Role in The Success of Africa’s Free Trade Area

Africa Renewal's Managing Editor Kingsley Ighobor talks to Damilola Ogunbiyi

NEW YORK (IDN | Africa Renewal) — Damilola Ogunbiyi is the CEO of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All. On the sidelines of the UN High-Level Political Forum from July 6 to 15 in New York, Ms. Ogunbiyi spoke to Africa Renewal’s Kingsley Ighobor on a range of issues, including how to tackle energy poverty in Africa. Here are the excerpts:

: Africa Renewal; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 04 August 2021

Photo: Dr. Kakha Shengelia, President of IAUP and Caucasus University.

The Role of Academia and Universities in Fostering Awareness of SDGs

Viewpoint by Dr. Kakha Shengelia

The writer is President of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) and President of Caucasus University (CU). The following is the text of Dr Kakha's Foreword to Striving for People, Planet and Peace, 2021 Joint Media Project Report of the Non-Profit International Press Syndicate Group with IDN as flagship agency in partnership with Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with ECOSOC.

TBILISI, Georgia (IDN) — It was in the year 2015 when the world convened and defined 17 concrete objectives to achieve till 2030 that would improve everyone’s lot around the globe. Touching on every aspect of human existence, from social inequalities to the planet we live on.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 June 2021

Photo: The World Bank praised reported about "the secret to Côte d’Ivoire’s electric success" focusing on the Azito Thermal Power Plant, built in 1998. © Erick Kaglan, World Bank.

Declining Power Supply Cripples Ivory Coast and Ghana Cocoa Economies

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — A prolonged dry season is being blamed for inadequate power supplies to West African countries from Ivory Coast to Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso, threatening businesses and the world’s largest cocoa economies.

Consumers, unions and business leaders in Ivory Coast are sounding the alarm about waves of blackouts that are hitting major cities, including the economic capital Abidjan and its five million residents.