Seeing the Light: Adapting to climate change with decentralized renewable energy in developing countries

The document explores the role of decentralized renewable energy (DRE) in enhancing adaptive capacity to climate change in developing countries. It posits that DRE provides a 'win-win' by addressing adaptation needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, particularly when integrated with the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The text details how DRE supports the Millennium Development Goals by improving health, education, and gender equality, and reducing poverty and environmental degradation. It references case studies from Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Senegal, and Zimbabwe to illustrate these benefits.

• Decentralized renewable energy (DRE) combined with the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) offers a dual benefit by addressing the adaptation needs of the Global South while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• DRE contributes to the management of biodiversity and ecosystems by increasing agricultural productivity through energy for irrigation and post-harvest processing, which reduces the need to convert forests into agricultural land.
• The use of DREs, such as improved cookstoves or bioenergy-derived fuels, reduces exposure to toxic indoor air pollutants from traditional biomass combustion, which is a major health risk for rural women and children.
• DREs support universal primary education by reducing the labor burden on women and children—especially girls—involved in collecting bioenergy, and by providing lighting for home study.
• There is a strong correlation between high biomass energy dependence and child mortality; countries deriving more than 80% of rural primary energy from biomass have an under-five mortality rate of 173 per 1,000 live births, compared to 27.5 per 1,000 in countries deriving less than 20% from biomass.
• DRE is presented as a necessary alternative to 'business-as-usual' energy expansion, as extending national power grids using fossil fuels is incompatible with stabilizing atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

APA

Girardin, L. O., Dubrovsky, H., Bravo, G., Groisman, F., Hossain, I., Tamim, M., Gomes, E., de Campos, C. P., Muylaert, M. S., Costa, A. O., Henriques, R. M., Cisse, M., Sokona, Y., Palmer, F., Nziramasanga, N., & Venema, H. D. (2004). Seeing the Light: Adapting to climate change with decentralized renewable energy in developing countries. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/seeing_the_light_dre_brochure.pdf

Chicago

Girardin, Leonidas Osvaldo, Hilda Dubrovsky, Gonzalo Bravo, Fernando Groisman, Ijaz Hossain, M. Tamim, Edmond Gomes, et al. Seeing the Light: Adapting to climate change with decentralized renewable energy in developing countries. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2004. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/seeing_the_light_dre_brochure.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Girardin |first1=Leonidas Osvaldo |last2=Dubrovsky |first2=Hilda |last3=Bravo |first3=Gonzalo |last4=Groisman |first4=Fernando |last5=Hossain |first5=Ijaz |last6=Tamim |first6=M. |last7=Gomes |first7=Edmond |last8=de Campos |first8=Christiano Pires |last9=Muylaert |first9=Maria Silvia |display-authors=etal |title=Seeing the Light: Adapting to climate change with decentralized renewable energy in developing countries |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=February 2004 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/seeing_the_light_dre_brochure.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{girardin2004seeing, author = {Girardin, Leonidas Osvaldo and Dubrovsky, Hilda and Bravo, Gonzalo and Groisman, Fernando and Hossain, Ijaz and Tamim, M. and Gomes, Edmond and de Campos, Christiano Pires and Muylaert, Maria Silvia and Costa, Angela Oliveira and Henriques, Rachel Martins and Cisse, Moussa and Sokona, Youba and Palmer, Frederic and Nziramasanga, Norbert and Venema, Henry David}, title = {{Seeing the Light: Adapting to climate change with decentralized renewable energy in developing countries}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2004}, month = feb, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/seeing_the_light_dre_brochure.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }