Publication: Improving Energy Access to the Urban Poor in Developing Countries
Loading...
Date
2011-11
ISSN
Published
2011-11
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The case studies documented in this report aim to inform the energy access community (including practitioners, civil society groups, project planners, end users) about best practices of successful energy access initiatives targeted at slum dwellers. Eight case studies focusing on electrification and household energy were selected from India, Bangladesh, Colombia and Brazil, all countries that have had varying success in providing access to modern energy services for slum dwellers. The cases had to meet all or some of the following criteria: 1) limited to developing countries; 2) demonstrate innovative methods of improving energy access, including collaborative stakeholder engagement; 3) at least one example of small local energy service providers; 4) contributed to community development by promoting local skill development and income generation; and 5) representative of electricity and different sources of household energy. The case studies describe the existing conditions in the slum, type of energy service provided, the key characters involved, conditions for success, and replicable factors. Common barriers to energy access were identified and impact on the lives of slum dwellers, were also discussed.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“The Energy and Resources Institute. 2011. Improving Energy Access to the Urban Poor in Developing Countries. Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP);. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17496 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Energy Access and Productive Uses for the Urban Poor : Final Report on Ghana Scoping Study(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-11)The aim of the scoping study was to gain an understanding of the productive activities slum dwellers engage in that rely on energy services and the potentials and challenges of slums in Ghana regarding access to modern energy services and income generation from productive activities. The objective of the ESMED-EAfUP (Energy Sector Management Assistance Program - ESMAP/SME Development - Energy Access for the Urban Poor) programme is 'to create and sustain a network of energy practitioners to support development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) as users and providers of modern energy services for slum upgrading programs.'. Using ability to adopt safer and modern energy forms as a criterion in assessing the effective deployment of safer and modern energy forms, the study concluded that the high propensity to save is an opportunity for their deployment if they can be sensitized about the benefits of using modern energy forms, which many of the slum dwellers are not aware of. Most enterprise owners could also capitalize on the credit policies of the financial institutions they saved with to adopt the modern energy forms. Lack of education and limited awareness about the benefits of using clean, efficient and improved energy forms were some of the reasons for the use of inefficient and illegal energy forms among the slum dwellers. The study recommends awareness creation among the slum dwellers about the benefits of using legal, clean and efficient energy forms in productive enterprises, which the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) can take up. A major benefit of this study which is worth mentioning is the learning and sharing that took place among the research team because apart from the findings of this study that unraveled some relevant information that many stakeholders working in the cities of Ghana did not know about slums, there was also a lot of sharing of experiences that took place.Publication Global Expeiences on Expanding Water and Sanitation Services to the Urban Poor : Accompanying Volume(Washington, DC, 2009-08)In 2006-07, the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) initiated research to identify barriers to service delivery for the urban poor. The findings of the research have been presented in the Guidance Notes on Improving Water Supply and Sanitation Services to the Urban Poor in India. The Urban Global Practice Team of WSP decided to expand the ambit of this research to a global context as the learnings were relevant to experiences across Africa, Latin America, and East Asia and the Pacific. The Guidance Notes are based on an in-depth research of various initiatives from across the world (including South Asian, African, Latin American, and East Asian and the Pacific countries) and consultations with urban poor communities. The present volume is a documentation of this research and supports the Guidance Notes on Services for the Urban Poor. Section 1 of this report consists of 19 case studies. Section 2 describes consultations with urban poor communities. The main aim of the consultations was to record the issues they confronted related to water supply and sanitation.Publication Innovative Approaches to Energy Access for the Urban Poor(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012)Rapid urban growth in developing countries has created an unprecedented demand for energy services. Cities face the enormous challenge of improving energy access to urban communities in order to improve education, health, and basic socioeconomic conditions. South Asia and Sub- Saharan Africa have the fastest growing urban populations in the world projected to grow by 50 percent by 2025. This will put tremendous pressure on cities in these regions as they work to provide basic services, including energy services, to underserved areas. While there is widespread understanding of the critical role energy access plays in sustainable development, there is still a lack of policies targeted at growing urban poor populations. The objective of these case studies is to share lessons learned in successful energy access initiatives and to provide a point of reference for energy practitioners. The case studies identify barriers to energy access that are unique to the urban poor, innovative approaches to finding solutions, and the roles of communities, service providers, and governments in successfully providing access to legal modern energy services. Eight case studies focused on electrification and clean fuels were selected from India, Bangladesh, Colombia, and Brazil all countries that have had varying success in providing access to modern energy services for slum dwellers. The cases selected highlight several common barriers facing the urban poor in achieving access to safer, cleaner, and legal sources of energy. They also outline the innovative approaches adopted by all stakeholders. This study demonstrates several common barriers and highlights diverse ways to overcome them. It shows that success depends on several enabling factors working together, such as stakeholder collaboration and community empowerment. Sustainable initiatives that have the potential to be replicated in other urban poor communities depend on the continued commitment of stakeholders, and the presence of strong financial and institutional mechanisms.Publication Building Sustainability in an Urbanizing World : A Partnership Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-07)Cities are hubs of global change, and their global influence continues to grow. Cities contribute significantly to global challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss. At the same time, cities experience impacts like climate change first and with greatest intensity. Further, cities are becoming leaders worldwide in efforts to address global environmental and social problems. Some of the most important smaller-scale agreements and partnerships emerging from Rio+20 (the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development) were initiated by or focused on cities. Even as the conference reinforced the increasing difficulty of reaching consensus on global challenges, it also saw smaller-scale agreements and partnerships emerge. Some of the most important "microagreements" focused on cities.Publication Sudan : Overview of the Urban Landscape(Washington, DC, 2011-11)This study responds to the need for information and analysis on the urban sector in Sudan, to inform the Bank's policy dialogue with the Government of Sudan (GoS) on urban and local government issues, and to inform the design of future Bank assistance. The first phase of this analytical exercise, which is the focus of this report, develops an overview of the urban landscape. The report is structured as follows: section two describes the evolution of the spatial system in Sudan and highlights key urbanization patterns and trends; section three provides an overview of the legal, institutional and financial composition of Sudan's urban areas; and section 80 outlines the key policy issues and recommendations. The report also draws on in-depth case studies of Nyala and Khartoum, which are included as annexes to the report.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Global Economic Prospects, January 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16)Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.Publication State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-05-21)This report provides an up-to-date overview of existing and emerging carbon pricing instruments around the world, including international, national, and subnational initiatives. It also investigates trends surrounding the development and implementation of carbon pricing instruments and some of the drivers seen over the past year. Specifically, this report covers carbon taxes, emissions trading systems (ETSs), and crediting mechanisms. Key topics covered in the 2024 report include uptake of ETSs and carbon taxes in low- and middle- income economies, sectoral coverage of ETSs and carbon taxes, and the use of crediting mechanisms as part of the policy mix.Publication Media and Messages for Nutrition and Health(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06)The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) has experienced rapid and significant economic growth over the past decade. However, poor nutritional outcomes remain a concern. Rates of childhood undernutrition are particularly high in remote, rural, and upland areas. Media have the potential to play an important role in shaping health and nutrition–related behaviors and practices as well as in promoting sociocultural and economic development that might contribute to improved nutritional outcomes. This report presents the results of a media audit (MA) that was conducted to inform the development and production of mass media advocacy and communication strategies and materials with a focus on maternal and child health and nutrition that would reach the most people from the poorest communities in northern Lao PDR. Making more people aware of useful information, essential services and products and influencing them to use these effectively is the ultimate goal of mass media campaigns, and the MA measures the potential effectiveness of media efforts to reach this goal. The effectiveness of communication channels to deliver health and nutrition messages to target beneficiaries to ensure maximum reach and uptake can be viewed in terms of preferences, satisfaction, and trust. Overall, the four most accessed media channels for receiving information among communities in the study areas were village announcements, mobile phones, television, and out-of-home (OOH) media. Of the accessed media channels, the top three most preferred channels were village announcements (40 percent), television (26 percent), and mobile phones (19 percent). In terms of trust, village announcements were the most trusted source of information (64 percent), followed by mobile phones (14 percent) and television (11 percent). Hence of all the media channels, village announcements are the most preferred, have the most satisfied users, and are the most trusted source of information in study communities from four provinces in Lao PDR with some of the highest burden of childhood undernutrition.Publication Economic Recovery(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-04-06)World Bank Group President David Malpass spoke about the world facing major challenges, including COVID, climate change, rising poverty and inequality and growing fragility and violence in many countries. He highlighted vaccines, working closely with Gavi, WHO, and UNICEF, the World Bank has conducted over one hundred capacity assessments, many even more before vaccines were available. The World Bank Group worked to achieve a debt service suspension initiative and increased transparency in debt contracts at developing countries. The World Bank Group is finalizing a new climate change action plan, which includes a big step up in financing, building on their record climate financing over the past two years. He noted big challenges to bring all together to achieve GRID: green, resilient, and inclusive development. Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, mentioned focusing on vulnerable people during the pandemic. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, focused on giving everyone a fair shot during a sustainable recovery. All three commented on the importance of tackling climate change.Publication Remarks at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-12)World Bank Group President David Malpass discussed biodiversity and climate change being closely interlinked, with terrestrial and marine ecosystems serving as critically important carbon sinks. At the same time climate change acts as a direct driver of biodiversity and ecosystem services loss. The World Bank has financed biodiversity conservation around the world, including over 116 million hectares of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas, 10 million hectares of Terrestrial Protected Areas, and over 300 protected habitats, biological buffer zones and reserves. The COVID pandemic, biodiversity loss, climate change are all reminders of how connected we are. The recovery from this pandemic is an opportunity to put in place more effective policies, institutions, and resources to address biodiversity loss.