Some Energy and Poverty Facts

> Some energy facts

Access to well-functioning, affordable and reliable energy services is a pre-requisite for poor people to improve their livelihoods. Energy is not just about electricity, it is also about human energy, about biomass and about all other energy sources. The demand for energy is a ‘derived demand’: people do not want energy in itself, but the ‘energy services’ it provides – cooking, lighting, heating, water pumping, etc. Access to such energy services improves people’s daily lives in many ways, both directly and indirectly. Gender issues deserve particular attention in dealing with energy services, since about 70% of these poor are women, just as most of the informal sector enterprises are owned and operated by women, and women bear the main burden of providing and using biomass energy for cooking and space-heating.

Access to proper energy services will contribute to:

Improvement of health
Inefficient cooking or space heating with biomass fuels creates indoor air pollution, which is a major cause of death for many of the poor, mostly women and children. Access to improved cooking services will dramatically improve this situation.
Transport to clinics, and lighting, sterilisation and refrigeration at clinics are essential for the treatment of ill people. These services cannot be provided without access to appropriate energy services.

Empowerment of the poor
Modern information and communication tools such as telephone, television, radio and computers enable people to become better informed and thus more independent. It allows them for instance to educate themselves, to influence decision-making, to be informed on current price levels, to communicate with friends and family. These information and communication tools all depend on a reliable and affordable energy provision.

Better quality of life
Most poor people currently meet the majority of their energy needs by collecting biomass (e.g. fuel wood, agricultural residues, and dung) for cooking and heating and by using additional resources like kerosene and batteries for lighting or radio. Generally, these types of resources cost a lot in terms of both time and money. Collection of biomass energy takes women and children between 2 and 7 hours a day, while kerosene and candles are often far more expensive than more modern energy services, like electricity. Access to reliable, modern energy services could therefore seriously reduce people’s time and money spent on their energy needs.

Increased productivity and income
Access to energy, be it lighting or other services, is a pre-requisite for many micro and small-scale businesses. Local restaurants, small kiosks and agricultural businesses are in need of proper energy services for e.g. cooling, cooking and processing of agricultural products. Productivity can be increased by extending the working day with lighting and by mechanisation, for example, of irrigation and processing crops and raw materials.

Improved local and global environment
Energy is strongly linked to the environment. Energy sources are drawn directly from the environment and improper or inefficient energy use causes environmental problems. The conversion of biomass in cooking or lighting equipment is often very inefficient causing emissions of toxic materials and greenhouse gases. Furthermore, the poorest people often live in the most ecologically sensitive and vulnerable physical locations, which makes them even more vulnerable to environmental problems like deforestation, desertification and climate change.

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