University workshop reflects on energy poverty and its environmental impact

A workshop at the University of Navarra will address next Monday, February 28, strategies to reduce energy poverty and ensure access to electricity to developing countries in a sustainable way development . It is being organized by the Navarra Center for International Development (NCID) of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS). 

"At the moment, around 800 million people in developing countries development do not have access to electricity", said Raúl Bajo-Buenestado, coordinator of the activity and researcher of NCID and School of Economics and Business Administration. 

"Providing universal access to clean and affordable energy is the UN's goal No. 7 for sustainable development ", he recalled. However, he pointed out that ending energy poverty "represents a major challenge both economically and environmentally, as electricity generation often involves the use of fossil fuels that contribute to climate change".

Evidence from Tanzania, Brazil and Ethiopia

Speakers will discuss more economical and environmentally friendly ways and present evidence from Tanzania, Brazil and Ethiopia. They will focus on aspects such as the effectiveness of different infrastructures and the most appropriate financing methods. 

Speakers include Niclas Moneke, Professor at Oxford University (UK); Jevgenijs Steinbuks, researcher of the World Bank; Carlo Andrea Bollino, Professor at the University of Perugia and LUISS University (Italy); Jacopo Bonan, Professor at the Politecnico di Milano (Italy); and Raúl Bajo-Buenestado. 

This activity is framed in the line of research in Environment of the "Strategy 2025: University and Sustainability". This plan aims to promote projects that help to reduce the environmental footprint, preserve natural capital and achieve a change of behaviour in society, thus demonstrating that it is possible to eliminate the existing conflict between nature conservation and human development .