Africa needs policies to expand countries’ renewable energy markets – ones that will translate into real benefits for small-scale entrepreneurs and end users. But the biggest challenge is not the limiting policy environment; the real problem is how to move from the micro to the macro. Africa needs to scale up and out successful renewable energy experiences to a magnitude that transforms the lives of millions of people – people who for too long have lived at the bottom of the energy ladder.
This issue of Joto Afrika looks at research in the following areas:
- Renewable energy for Malawi’s mountain entrepreneurs
- The spread of biofuels in Zambia
- Hydroppower in East Africa
- Biogas as an alternative energy source
- Making fuel briquettes to save trees
- Africa’s National Adaptation Programmes of Action
The Joto Afrika series is produced jointly by IDS, the Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) and the AfricaAdapt Network. Publications are hosted by ALIN and can also be found on Eldis, a development research and information portal managed by IDS Knowledge Services.
