Box 7.1 | Energy systems of LDCs: Opportunities & challenges for low-carbon development:
One of the critical indicators of progress towards achieving development goals in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) is the level of access to modern energy services. It is estimated that 79% of the LDC population lacked access to electricity in 2009, compared to a 28% average in the developing countries (WHO and UNDP, 2009). About 71% of people in LDCs relied exclusively on biomass burning for cooking in 2009. The dominance of subsistence agriculture in LDCs as the mainstay of livelihoods, combined with a high degree of population dispersal, and widespread income poverty have shaped the nature of energy systems in this category of countries (Banuri, 2009; Sokona, Y. et al., 2012). The LDCs from sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, with limited access to fossil based electricity (and heat), would need to explore a variety of appropriate sustainable technologies to fuel their development goals (Guruswamy, 2011). In addition to deploying fossil-based and renewable technologies, improved biomass cooking from biogas and sustainably produced wood for charcoal will remain essential in LDCs (Guruswamy, 2011).
Bioenergy production from unsustainable biomass harvesting, for direct combustion and charcoal production is commonly practiced in most LDCs. The net GHG emissions from these practices is significant (FAO, 2011), and rapid urbanization trends is likely to intensify harvesting for wood, contributing further to rises in GHG emissions, along with other localized environmental impacts. However, important initiatives from multilateral organizations and from the private sector with innovative business models are improving agricultural productivity for food and creating bioenergy development opportunities. One example produces liquid biofuels for stove cooking while creating, near cities, agroforestry zones with rows of fast-growing leguminous trees/shrubs and alleys planted with annual crop rotations, surrounded by a forestry shelterbelt zone that contains indigenous trees and oilseed trees and provides business opportunities across the value chain including for women (WWF-UK, 2011). The mixture of crops and trees produces food with higher nutritive values, enables clean biofuels production for stove cooking, develops businesses, and simultaneously avoids GHG emissions from deforestation to produce charcoal for cooking (Zvinavashe et al., 2011).
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