Publications
Financing renewable energy in developing countries: Drivers and barriers for private finance in sub-Saharan Africa (UNEP, February 2012)
This report from the UNEP Finance Initiative, outlines how current obstacles to the scaling-up of sustainable energy solutions in Africa - such as the cost of electricity generation or difficult gr more
REN21 Renewables 2011 Global Status Report (UNE, July 2011)
The REN21 Renewables 2011 Global Status Report shows that the renewable energy sector continues to perform well despite continuing economic recession, incentive cuts, and low natural-gas prices. more
Renewable Energy in Industrial Applications (UNIDO, December 2010)
Manufacturing industry accounts for about one third of total energy use worldwide. more
Making Integrated Food-Energy Systems Work for People and Climate (FAO, April 2010)
Reducing “Energy Poverty” is increasingly acknowledged as the “Missing Development Goal”. more
Delivering on Energy (UNE, February 2010)
It is clear that energy is central to sustainable development and is intrinsically linked to a number of major global challenges such as poverty, security and climate change. The current energy landscape, however, is inadequate for fully addressing those issues. more
UN-Energy - Looking to the Future (UNE, February 2010)
There is an emerging consensus on the diversity and complex nature of key energy issues, and the requirement to look at them in a holistic manner. This consensus should be considered as an excellent opportunity for leadership. more
Beyond Bonn: World Bank Group Progress on Renewable Energy (WBG, December 2009)
The fifth in the series documenting the World Bank Group’s progress in supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency, this report details the successes of, and lessons learned from, the investments made by the World Bank Group over the past five years. more
Renewable Energy Market Transformation Initiative – Scaling Up Deployment of Grid-Connected Renewable Energy Technologies for Power Supply Diversification (WBG, December 2009)
The Energy Sector Management Assistance Program is supporting the renewable energy development process through the Renewable Energy Market Transformation Initiative to help countries address the preparatory work needed in the earlier stages of program development by providing technical assistance, knowledge sharing activities, and capacity building training to facilitate access to financing. Read Full-Text of Report more
Jatropha: A Smallholder Bioenergy Crop - The Potential for Pro-Poor Development (FAO, December 2009)
As developing countries face increasing local demand for energy in rural areas, they are also dealing with both economic and environmental pressure on agricultural lands. The possibility of growing energy crops such as Jatropha Curcas L. has the potential to enable smallholder farmers, producers and processors to cope with these pressures. However, many of the actual investments and policy decisions on developing jatropha as an oil crop have been made without the backing of sufficient science-based knowledge. more
Sustainable Development: Promotion of New and Renewable Sources of Energy (UNDESA, December 2008)
This report from the Secretary General aims to provide an overview on new and renewables sources of energy investments in the world. It identifies the main barriers to the development of such technologies and their transfer, and suggests a number of policy options to be explored. more