This edited volume looks at energy poverty, an issue whose pivotal role in the fight for human development is only now being recognised by policymakers. Nearly one quarter of humanity still lacks access to electricity. Close to one third rely on traditional fuels like firewood and cow dung for cooking, at great cost to their health and welfare. While most prevalent in parts of Africa and Asia, energy poverty is a global problem which concerns us all. This book, which brings together economists, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and other practitioners from all over the world, is dedicated to a single goal: finding a solution to this haunting problem. It is part history, part economics, part political analysis, part business case review, and part field handbook. Part One focuses on defining and measuring the problem and benchmarking progress in solving it, an obvious prerequisite to any successful energy-access policy. Part Two reviews past and current energy access programs, with an eye towards finding out what worked and what didn't and what can be replicated elsewhere. These case reviews are told as seen on the ground - China's experience by top Chinese officials and Africa's by African regulators and scholars. Based in part on those cases, the book's last, more forward-looking section aims to present practitioners with a tool kit, a menu of options to speed up their efforts. The energy access agenda is gaining traction at a time of rising concerns about climate change and resource constraints. This book shows that bringing modern energy to those who lack it not just a moral imperative, but will likely benefit the world as a whole without harming the environment or unduly stretching finite resources.
PART I: TAKING STOCK OF ENERGY POVERTY ; Introduction: The End of Energy Poverty: Pathways to Development ; 1. Achieving Energy For All Will Not Cost The Earth ; 2. Defining, Measuring, and Tackling Energy Poverty ; 3. The Development Impact of Energy Access ; 4. The World Bank's Perspective on Energy Access ; 5. Health Benefits from Energy Access in LMICs: Mechanisms, Impacts, and Policy Opportunities ; 6. Energy Poverty and Public Health: Impacts of Solid Cookfuel ; 7. Energy and Gender ; 8. Beyond Basic Access: The Scale of Investment Required for Universal Energy Access ; 9. Energy and Water: A Critical Linkage ; PART II: LESSONS LEARNED ; 10. Striving Towards Development: China's Energy Poverty Alleviation Efforts ; 11. Indian Approaches to Energy Access ; 12. Modern Energy Services to Low Income Households in Brazil: Lessons Learned and Challenges Ahead ; 13. Energy Poverty in the Middle East and North Africa ; 14. Energy Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: Poverty Amidst Abundance ; 15. Global Energy Subsidies: Scale, Opportunity Costs, and Barriers to Reform ; 16. Is Small Beautiful? ; PART III: CHALLENGES AND POLICY OPTIONS ; 17. Expanding Energy Access: An Assessment of U.S. Policy ; 18. The Energy Access Practitioner Network ; 19. The Energy Plus Approach: Reducing Poverty with Productive Uses of Energy ; 20. Unlocking Financial Resources ; 21. Alleviating Energy Poverty in Africa: A Story of Leapfrogging, Localizing, and Fast-Tracking