Foreword / Jose Goldemberg -- A role for renewables -- Improving energy security -- Trends in world energy use -- Current deployment of renewable energy and future prospects -- The need for indigenous local energy sources -- A niche for renewable energy -- Powering sustainable development -- Energy services -- Energy and development -- Achieving international development targets -- Reducing environmental impacts -- Local impacts -- Global impacts -- Transferring technology to developing countries: key actors and roles -- Developments in technology transfer -- Defining technology transfer -- Technology transfer in the context of sustainable development and climate change -- Key actors and roles -- The role of governments -- The role of international finance institutions -- The role of private sector organizations -- The role of civil society -- Risks and rewards -- Investment in technology transfer -- Key investors for renewable energy -- International institutions -- National institutions -- Private companies -- Non-governmental organizations -- Investment trends -- Finance mechanisms -- Innovative finance mechanisms -- Potential investment via the CDM -- Barriers and options -- Barriers -- National policies and programmes -- Institutional structures -- Intellectual property and standards -- Information exchange, education and training -- Financing -- Social -- Others -- Summary of barriers to solar home systems -- Summary of barriers to biomass cogeneration -- Options -- Encouraging technology transfer
Summary
"This text highlights the role that renewable energy can play in achieving sustainable development. It focuses on rural areas of developing countries, looking in particular at stand-alone solar home systems and grid-connected biomass cogeneration plants. It analyzes the main barriers to the successful transfer of renewable energy technology, with case studies from a range of South-East Asian, South Asian, Pacific and African countries, and explains the ways in which these obstacles can be overcome. The roles of the key players involved and how the Kyoto Protocol can facilitate the transfer in order to mitigate climate change are also discussed"--Provided by publisher