Clean Energy and Development: Towards an Investment Framework (World Bank Report, April 2006)
The World Bank released this study "Clean Energy and Development: Towards an Investment Framework" in April 2006 during the Spring meetings of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund.
According to the report, two-thirds of the increase in world energy demand over the next 25 years will come from developing countries; some 1.6 billion people, mostly living in Africa and South Asia, still have no access to electricity; and nearly 2.4 billion people use traditional biomass fuels – wood, agricultural residues, and dung – for cooking and heating. Adapting to climate change will cost developing countries a projected $10 billion to $40 billion per year, of which about a third is associated with public finance.
Three sources of funding for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions are available, according to the document: (i) voluntary actions; (ii) international grants; and (iii) trade. Trade is likely to confer the biggest flow of funds ($20-120 billion per year), but will require a long-term, stable, and predictable framework and regulatory system. The 157-page report (pdf) includes charts of the World Bank's Clean Energy Work Program for G+5 countries (Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa) and economic breakdowns for energy efficiency of coal technologies, alternative energies, renewable energy, hydropower and nuclear fission.
