Climate Roadmap related events

Description: This conference focused on the “other” third of the world — the energy oppressed poor (EOP) - afflicted by energy access problems. Two thirds of the world, located in developed and advanced developing countries, are high energy users while the other one third of the world, located primarily in the developing world, are low energy users.

The high energy world relies principally on hitherto abundant sources of fossil fuels for its prosperous lifestyle. By contrast, the low energy world, numbering around two billion people, typically lives on less than a dollar or two a day and primarily relies on biomass-based fire to meet all of its energy needs. These are also the peoples who will most severely be affected by global warming.

While the use of hydrocarbons by the high energy world is responsible for global warming and has led to the peaking of oil, the biomass-based fire of the other one third presents cognate energy problems. Black soot emitted by imperfect combustion of biomass creates indoor pollution causing the annual death of a million and half persons, primarily women and children.

In addition, black soot in the atmosphere has recently been identified as a significant source of global warming. As well as causing radiative forcing, black soot also interferes with the albedo effect in the ice clad regions of the world.