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The CHAPOSA project investigated charcoal production systems around Lusaka, Dar es Salaam, and Maputo between 1989 and 1998. Findings indicate a significant reduction in closed forest cover in all three areas, with the most severe depletion around Maputo. Charcoal serves as a critical income source for rural poor and a stable, affordable energy source for urban poor, creating a socio-economic dependency that complicates regulation. The report argues that current fiscal and licensing systems are inadequately enforced, treating forests as open-access resources. To mitigate deforestation, the authors recommend a coordinated approach: enforcing licensing to increase prices and fund forest management, while simultaneously providing rural income alternatives (e.g., improved agriculture) and urban energy substitutes (e.g., expanded electricity access).

The project focuses on the Akagera Basin in Rwanda, addressing the increasing competition for water, energy, and food resources driven by population growth and economic transformation. By utilizing the Stockholm Environment Institute's WEAP and LEAP modelling tools, the initiative aims to identify sustainable development pathways and avoid sector-based plan incompatibilities. Key goals include producing 25 technical reports and policy briefs, engaging over 2,000 stakeholders, and supporting over 15 Nature Based Community Enterprises (NBCEs) to enhance climate resilience in the districts of Bugesera, Kirehe, Ngororero, and Rutsiro.

The report examines the impact of improved cookstoves in Central America, noting that while many stoves reduce emissions, they often fail to meet WHO air quality guidelines for personal exposure. It identifies user-centered design, training, and financing as critical for adoption, while highlighting a lack of longitudinal data on sustained use.

The document identifies critical resource competitions in Zambia, particularly between hydropower and irrigated agriculture for water use during the dry season. It highlights a significant gap in cross-sector strategic planning and recommends integrated quantitative assessments to align conflicting sectoral targets as the country pursues its 2030 economic goals.

The document provides a comprehensive multilingual glossary of terms essential for those working or studying in the fields of sustainable development, environmental policy, and human development. It covers a wide array of topics including renewable energy, ecological economics, climate change, and social indicators, aiming to standardize the understanding of these concepts within the context of Agenda 21 and sustainable development in Estonia.

The report '80 Gigawatts of Change' presents seven modeled scenarios for Egypt's electricity sector from 2015 to 2035. It compares a 'Business as Usual' (BAU) baseline against pathways focusing on decarbonization, energy independence, and decentralization. The analysis highlights that while centralized fossil-fuel-based models are cheaper in the short term, they risk 'carbon lock-in' and exacerbate energy access inequities. Conversely, decentralized and renewable-heavy pathways offer higher job creation and lower emissions but require significant initial investment and institutional reform. The report specifically warns against coal and nuclear power due to high water consumption, environmental risks, and low job creation relative to renewables.

The briefing highlights Kenya and East Africa as dynamic markets for the bioeconomy, specifically for Swedish and Nordic companies. It introduces the "Advancing Bioeconomy Development in Kenya (ABDK)" project, led by the Stockholm Environment Institute with Sida and Business Sweden, which focuses on mapping actors, developing roadmaps for bio-based clusters, and facilitating business development. While the region offers potential in bioenergy, agricultural value chains, and bio-waste processing, Swedish firms face challenges including fragmented industrial ecosystems, complex licensing processes, and the need for local cultural and business context to build trust.

The report finds that Rwanda faces significant economic costs from existing climate variability and future climate change, particularly in health, agriculture, and water sectors. It estimates that future climate change could cost Rwanda nearly 1% of its GDP annually by 2030, excluding extreme events. Adaptation costs are projected to range from $50 million to $600 million per year by 2030, depending on whether development-related needs are included. The study also identifies a low-carbon growth pathway as being in Rwanda's self-interest to avoid 'lock-in' to high-emission infrastructure and to access carbon financing.

The report examines the energy-agriculture nexus in Africa, focusing on five case study countries: Cameroon, Mali, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. It develops three primary scenarios—Reference, Moderate Improvement, and Accelerated Growth—to project energy needs for on-farm activities, crop processing, and transport. The analysis highlights that while high-input mechanized farming significantly increases commercial energy intensity, food security gains in some contexts, such as Sudan, can be achieved without proportional increases in energy consumption. The document also explores the role of agro-industries and the potential for energy efficiency improvements in irrigation and crop curing.

The report examines how social constructions of gender—rather than biological differences—create inequalities in the division of labour and access to resources, which in turn dictate how men and women interact with and are affected by the environment. Through case studies in Uganda, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, and South Africa, it demonstrates that women often face a 'double work burden' and higher vulnerability to environmental hazards, while men typically dominate large-scale, more environmentally damaging industrial activities. The document proposes an analytical framework focusing on formal and informal constraints to help organisations implement gender-sensitive programming.

The document details a bottom-up modeling exercise using the Energy Scope tool to project Colombia's energy transition. It outlines a path toward net-zero emissions by 2050, characterized by a massive scale-up of solar and wind capacity, the gradual phase-out of fossil fuels, and the integration of energy storage and green hydrogen. The modeling identifies specific capacity targets for renewable energy across three time horizons and highlights the role of natural gas as a transitional fuel for transport and industry before full electrification.

The report highlights the failure of biomass power plants (PLTBm) in the Mentawai Islands, which operated for less than a year and forced the cutting of indigenous forests due to unsuitable bamboo varieties. It argues that the push for bioenergy is suspicious given the region's higher potential for solar and hydro power. Furthermore, it documents a stark disparity in land control, where large corporate forest concessions (PBPH) threaten natural forests and indigenous territories, while local communities struggle for legal recognition of their ancestral lands.

This fact sheet by Trend Asia examines the failure of biomass power plants (PLTBm) in the Mentawai Islands and the resulting environmental and social impacts. It highlights how a project funded by a US grant led to the deforestation of customary forests when intended bamboo fuel proved unsuitable, while arguing that the region's energy needs should be met through more abundant renewable sources like solar and hydro rather than extractive bioenergy.

The document provides the technical and financial basis for LCOE ranges for electricity generation technologies. It specifies that all technologies are assumed to be online in 2015, with costs expressed in real 2010 dollars over a 20-year recovery period. The analysis incorporates overnight capital costs, fixed charge rates, O&M costs, and fuel price assumptions, while accounting for federal tax credits, loan guarantees for nuclear power, and future carbon prices.

The report argues that the United States can significantly reduce its reliance on fossil fuels by deploying a diverse mix of renewable energy sources, which have the technical potential to meet current electricity needs many times over. It highlights wind, solar, geothermal, bioenergy, and hydropower as key resources, noting that wind and geothermal are already competitive with new coal and natural gas plants in some cases. The document identifies critical barriers to this transition, including the need for a modernized transmission grid, streamlined siting processes, and sustainable biomass harvesting. It proposes a policy package featuring a national renewable electricity standard (RES) ramping up to 40% by 2030, extended tax credits, and increased R&D funding. While discussing carbon capture and storage (CCS) and advanced nuclear power as potential low-carbon supplements, the report notes significant cost uncertainties, infrastructure requirements, and safety risks associated with these technologies.

The Climate 2030 Blueprint proposes a combination of a cap-and-trade program and sector-specific complementary policies to reduce U.S. heat-trapping emissions. The analysis indicates that by 2030, the Blueprint could achieve a 56 percent drop in emissions from 2005 levels while generating net annual savings of $464 billion for consumers and businesses. The electricity sector is identified as the primary driver of these reductions, with significant contributions from energy efficiency and renewable energy. The report also highlights improvements in energy security through reduced oil imports and the potential for carbon sequestration in U.S. forests and farmlands.

The Union of Concerned Scientists finds that increasing Wisconsin's renewable electricity standard to 25% by 2025 is achievable and affordable. Under the most likely 'No Hydro Imports' scenario, the state would see a $59 million reduction in electricity bills (when accounting for carbon savings), the creation of 2,650 new jobs, and a reduction in CO2 emissions equivalent to removing 2.1 million cars from the road. The analysis highlights Wisconsin's significant technical potential in wind, solar, and biomass to meet these targets while reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels.

The paper evaluates various renewable and clean energy technologies for Tamil Nadu, analyzing their Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), current installation capacities, and barriers to adoption. It identifies significant potential for wind repowering, offshore wind development, solar PV expansion, and the deployment of battery energy storage systems (BESS). Additionally, it examines the role of green hydrogen and bioenergy in the state's energy mix, emphasizing the need for supportive policies and infrastructure to facilitate the transition.

The report contends that bioenergy is an inefficient use of land that exacerbates a projected 70 percent 'food gap' between 2006 calorie availability and 2050 needs. It asserts that large-scale bioenergy targets are unrealistic, as meeting a 20 percent global energy demand target by 2050 would require doubling the world's annual plant harvest. The author argues that bioenergy's climate benefits are often overestimated due to 'double counting' carbon absorption that would occur regardless of energy use. In contrast, solar photovoltaics are presented as significantly more land-efficient, capable of generating over 100 times the usable energy per hectare. The document recommends phasing out subsidies and regulatory requirements for crop-based biofuels and instead prioritizing 'additional' biomass—such as timber processing wastes and landfill methane—for hard-to-abate sectors like aviation.

The WRI Results Framework establishes a structured system to plan and evaluate programmatic progress across three primary human systems: food, land & water; energy; and cities. It sets specific global targets for 2030 and WRI intervention targets for 2027, focusing on outcomes such as reducing agricultural land demand by 100 Mha, increasing the share of zero-carbon electricity by 9% in target geographies, and improving urban climate resilience. The framework integrates Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and utilizes a tiered approach of global, intervention, and country-specific targets, supported by impact indicators for people, nature, and climate.