For immediate release
14th December 2009
Ashden Awards calls for more finance for low carbon trail-blazers in developing world
Lives of millions of people improved by sustainable energy, helping to reduce poverty and cut carbon
The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy calls on investors, funders and governments at Copenhagen to support simple but ingenious green energy enterprises across the developing world that are lifting people out of poverty and mitigating climate change.
Two billion people worldwide are still without access to electricity and 1.6 billion people - around a third of the world’s population - still rely on fuel wood, smoky stoves and open fires for cooking. According to the Ashden Awards, with the right support, simple and affordable off-grid energy technologies such as solar, biogas and smoke-free stoves can easily be scaled up to benefit millions of people and fill the energy gap.
The strong connection between climate change and poverty is emphasised by many Ashden Award winners. As Harish Hande, CEO of Selco Solar in India comments “Poverty is the greatest threat to our environment. The poor use some of the most inefficient technologies and polluting fuels - not because they are cheap but because they don’t have a choice. “
Ashden Award-winners number over 100 but just ten of these leading enterprises are already improving the lives of over ten million people and together they are saving two million tonnes of CO2. These sustainable energy programmes in countries like Bangladesh , India and Tanzania ensure that women can use safe and efficient cook stoves; children can study at night with solar light and businesses can open for longer each day.
Thanks to one scheme in India , farmers can treble their incomes by using simple treadle pumps to irrigate their crops. International Development Enterprises India (IDEI) has developed simple treadle pumps and innovative drip irrigation systems for poor farmers in India that are low-cost and environment-friendly. Together these technologies have saved over 530 million litres of diesel, over 3000 million cubic meters of water and 417 million kWh of electricity. According to Amitabah Sadangi, Director of IDEI who was winner of the Ashden Award’s Outstanding Achievement Award this year, “Over one million farmers have adopted these technologies, benefitting around five million people - and made a net income of $1 billion.”
Sarah Butler-Sloss, founding director of the Ashden Awards says, “Ingenious and practical solutions like these need the political will and finance to scale up and reach many more millions of people. By cutting carbon and reducing deforestation sustainable technologies can move us closer to a low carbon future.”
-ends-
Please contact Juliet Heller 01621 868083 or Mob 07946 616150 to interview Sarah Butler-Sloss, Founding Director of the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy. Ashden Award winners in the UK and developing countries are also available for interview.
Since 2001, the Ashden Awards has supported and rewarded over 100 award winners in the UK and developing world.
The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy champion practical, local energy solutions that cut carbon, protect the environment, reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. See www.ashdenawards.org
Juliet Heller
PR Manager
The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy
T 01621 868083
M 07946 616150
E http://uk.mc274.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=juliet.heller@ashdenawards.org
http://www.ashdenawards.org/
Visit our website for views on Copenhagen from Ashden Award winners http://www.ashdenawards.org/Registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee. Registered number 05062574. Registered charity number 1104153
14th December 2009
Ashden Awards calls for more finance for low carbon trail-blazers in developing world
Lives of millions of people improved by sustainable energy, helping to reduce poverty and cut carbon
The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy calls on investors, funders and governments at Copenhagen to support simple but ingenious green energy enterprises across the developing world that are lifting people out of poverty and mitigating climate change.
Two billion people worldwide are still without access to electricity and 1.6 billion people - around a third of the world’s population - still rely on fuel wood, smoky stoves and open fires for cooking. According to the Ashden Awards, with the right support, simple and affordable off-grid energy technologies such as solar, biogas and smoke-free stoves can easily be scaled up to benefit millions of people and fill the energy gap.
The strong connection between climate change and poverty is emphasised by many Ashden Award winners. As Harish Hande, CEO of Selco Solar in India comments “Poverty is the greatest threat to our environment. The poor use some of the most inefficient technologies and polluting fuels - not because they are cheap but because they don’t have a choice. “
Ashden Award-winners number over 100 but just ten of these leading enterprises are already improving the lives of over ten million people and together they are saving two million tonnes of CO2. These sustainable energy programmes in countries like Bangladesh , India and Tanzania ensure that women can use safe and efficient cook stoves; children can study at night with solar light and businesses can open for longer each day.
Thanks to one scheme in India , farmers can treble their incomes by using simple treadle pumps to irrigate their crops. International Development Enterprises India (IDEI) has developed simple treadle pumps and innovative drip irrigation systems for poor farmers in India that are low-cost and environment-friendly. Together these technologies have saved over 530 million litres of diesel, over 3000 million cubic meters of water and 417 million kWh of electricity. According to Amitabah Sadangi, Director of IDEI who was winner of the Ashden Award’s Outstanding Achievement Award this year, “Over one million farmers have adopted these technologies, benefitting around five million people - and made a net income of $1 billion.”
Sarah Butler-Sloss, founding director of the Ashden Awards says, “Ingenious and practical solutions like these need the political will and finance to scale up and reach many more millions of people. By cutting carbon and reducing deforestation sustainable technologies can move us closer to a low carbon future.”
-ends-
Please contact Juliet Heller 01621 868083 or Mob 07946 616150 to interview Sarah Butler-Sloss, Founding Director of the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy. Ashden Award winners in the UK and developing countries are also available for interview.
Since 2001, the Ashden Awards has supported and rewarded over 100 award winners in the UK and developing world.
The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy champion practical, local energy solutions that cut carbon, protect the environment, reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. See www.ashdenawards.org
Juliet Heller
PR Manager
The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy
T 01621 868083
M 07946 616150
E http://uk.mc274.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=juliet.heller@ashdenawards.org
http://www.ashdenawards.org/
Visit our website for views on Copenhagen from Ashden Award winners http://www.ashdenawards.org/Registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee. Registered number 05062574. Registered charity number 1104153
