Introduction Climate Change refers to a change in climate patterns attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of carbon pollutants. Climate change may cause a change in average weather conditions, or in the time variation of weather around longer-term average conditions.
The main causes of climate change are broadly the rate at which energy is received from the sun and the rate at which it is lost to space determine the equilibrium temperature and climate of earth. This energy is distributed around the globe by winds, ocean currents, and other mechanisms to affect the climates of different regions. Factors that can shape climate are called climate forcing or "forcing mechanisms". These are processes such as variations in solar radiation, variations in the earth's orbit, variations in reflectivity of the continents, atmosphere, and oceans, mountain-building and continental drift and changes in greenhouse gas concentrations.
The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992, established the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as an organization to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent danger to the climate system. The Kyoto Protocol came to effect In 1997 and established legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in the period 2008-2012. In 2015, the Paris Agreement was adopted, governing emission reductions through commitments of countries in ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions.
Climate Change is also affecting the countries in East Africa. The recurrent droughts, floods, glacier melting on mountains and few coping mechanisms all combine to increase people’s vulnerability to climate change. Floods and droughts have caused damage to poor people and loss of life, reduced income generating opportunities and increased the cost of doing business in most parts of the East African countries. Climate change and variability are considered to be the major threats to sustainable development. East Africa and the rest of African states are considered vulnerable to climate change effects largely due to lack of financial, institutional and technological capacity.
The Paris Agreement on Climate Change
The UNFCCC Conference of Parties 21 (COP 21) in December 2015 in Paris adopted an international legally binding agreement applicable to all Parties' (the Paris Agreement) . The Paris Agreement is expected to enter into force before 2020. In the period to 2020, ambition of UNFCCC Parties still has to increase, in view of limiting global warming to below two degrees Celsius. Developed country Parties to UNFCCC, are urged 'to provide and mobilize enhanced financial support to developing country Parties for ambitious mitigation and adaptation actions, especially to Parties that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. A precondition for such enhanced climate action by developing countries, especially the most vulnerable ones, is their full inclusion in UNFCCC decision-making processes, as well as dedicated support for a number of selected priority thematic actions. Therefore, as was practice in previous Climate Change Protocols, a number of activities are proposed that are well integrated within mitigation and adaptation portfolio. The Paris Agreement on climate change lays out commitments for nations to limit their greenhouse-gas emissions that contain the impact of global warming. The commitments which are contributions that each individual country should make in order to achieve the worldwide climate goals are determined by all countries individually and called "nationally determined contributions" (NDCs). According to the Paris Agreement's article 4.19: "All Parties should strive to formulate and communicate long-term Low Emission Development Strategies (LEDS), taking into account their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances." The LEDS are a crucial policy tool that can help to place short-term actions in the context of the long-term structural changes required for transition to a low-carbon, resilient economy by 2050. Energy Technologies with Low Carbon Effects
The sustainable development in East African Countries will need energy. The challenge these countries may face is to use energy without warming the planet further, as this would cause additional dangerous climate impacts that could undermine development gains. While it might seem counter-intuitive, low-carbon development should be part and parcel of development undertakings and climate change adaptation strategies. Each of the East African Countries has its development goals. In order to achieve these goals, the country in the region will increase their energy access and so the per capita carbon emissions increase from the current level proportionately in the region. These countries must address climate change in ways that will increase access to energy access with low carbon effects and minimise the trade-offs between climate change mitigation, adaptation and development. The increase in energy access among others may include renewable and energy efficient technologies which in another name called sustainable energy technologies. TaTEDO Efforts on Climate Change
TaTEDO has undertaken a number of initiatives to strengthen capacity for addressing climate change effects through mitigation and adaptation measures not only to itself but also to its local partners and communities. TaTEDO using consultation from Kenya and South Africa, developed capacity for climate change mitigation and adaptation in Tanzania. Capacity building on climate change included:
• TaTEDO has managed to build staff capacity in climate change mitigation through CDM
Golden Standards and developing fundable CDM proposals.
• PINs and PDD were developed for the cookstove project which was implemented
through voluntary carbon methods in Rombo and Hai Districts.
• Formed partnership with E&Co Tanzania Limited to support SEECO Company to develop
a charcoal stove carbon project -registered under the gold standard voluntary carbon
• Implemented a project Green Charcoal for Reduction of Deforestation and Green
House Gases (GHG) Emissions
• Promoting pro-poor Low Carbon Development Strategies with SustainableEnergy,
CAN(Uganda) and FIDESMO (Mozambique) TaTEDO has managed to developing fundable CDM project documents in relation to energy and environment sectors. Following this achievements, improved woodfuel stoves project based on the voluntary carbon market was implemented in Kilimanjaro. TaTEDO Efforts on Low Carbon Energy Technologies
TaTEDO efforts on low emission takes advantage of the movement of wind and water, the heat and light of the sun and the biomass in plants and animals that can meet energy needs in a sustainable way. A variety of methods are available to convert those sustainable energy resources into fuels and electricity. Sustainable energy has the potential to reduce greenhouse emissions, slow global warming, reduce poverty, and move communities in East Africa toward a pro-poor, cleaner, healthier energy future. Biomass Energy
Many households in East Africa use firewood and charcoal with a low thermal efficiency and produce high amounts of noxious emissions. This contributes to the overuse of forest resources and has adverse impacts on people’s health. Improved biomass cookstoves are more efficient than regular ones and produce smaller amounts of harmful emissions. Biomass resources can be used to produce both fuels and electricity. These are diverse; including energy crops, agricultural waste, manure, forest products and waste, and urban waste. Biomass energy can either produced from solid, liquid and gaseous forms depending on the type of feedstock and conversion methods. TaTEDO has been developing these forms of sustainable energy resource using pro-poor sustainable energy technologies with characteristics of low carbon emissions Solid biofuel technologies (products) are (i) sustainable charcoal production methods (ii) energy efficient firewood stoves (iii) efficient charcoal stoves and ovens and (iv) efficient tree planting and management practices. TaTEDO advocates for three types of kilns. These are Improved Basic Earthmound Kiln (IBEK), Half Orange Charcoal Kiln (HOCK) and Retort Kiln. Energy efficient firewood stoves are of three types depending on type of construction materials and their costs. These are improved brick made firewood stoves, low cost stove and Kuni-mbili stoves. Energy efficient charcoal stoves and ovens can be categorized into improved charcoal saving stoves (Straight, Bell-bottom and Sazawa), Double Plates (Stand and Box), Meat Roasting Ovens (Teksawa and Nyama Choma) and Baking Ovens (Households and SMEs). The sustainable charcoal production skills are mostly disseminated to normal charcoal producers while HOCKs are put up in wood factories for recycling the wood leftovers into charcoals. TaTEDO has come up with means of converting agro-wastes into useful resource for generating income, producing alternative cooking fuels and increasing agricultural productivity. The agro wastes pilled agro-based industries are filled in the retort kiln semi-drums. The agro-wastes are carbonized by using retort kiln through process called pyrolysis to produce carbonized residue (bio-char). The carbonized residues are processed into briquettes which are enterprises for increasing rural employment, income generation, etc. Low quality cassava flour is used as binder. When carbonized residues are used for increasing agricultural productivity are called bio-char. Biochar has been proved to benefit crop growth and yield and therefore is a promising amendment for use in agriculture fields. Solar Energy
The sun provides a tremendous resource for generating clean and sustainable electricity without toxic pollution or global warming emissions. There are no global warming emissions associated with generating electricity or heat from solar energy, there are emissions associated with other stages of the solar life-cycle, including manufacturing, materials transportation, installation, maintenance, and decommissioning and dismantlement. Most estimates of life-cycle emissions for photo-voltaic systems are between 0.07 and 0.18 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour. This is far less than the life-cycle emission rates for fossil fuels (petrol, natural gas and coal). TaTEDO has been promoting solar electric systems for households and small business like phones charging and for social institutions such as dispensaries and schools. Promotion of the solar PV technology has increased public awareness on potentials to access lighting, radio and TV/video services. Several customers in the community are getting connected with solar PV systems. TaTEDO has been striving to increase number of Solar Home System (SHS) customers by linking them with the existing local micro-financial institutions such as SACCOS for accessing loans in order to purchase solar PV systems. Solar phone multi-chargers enable people to charge cellular phones and create possibilities for income generation in the off-grid areas. Solar phone multi-charging station businesses have been tested in several off-grid areas in Tanzania. Solar drying technology is one of ways for preserving food and stimulates income-generating activities. Through this technology, TaTEDO conducts demonstrations and training on solar drying technology to entrepreneurs and provides support to solar drying enterprises through provision of relevant information on solar drying technology and assist in market development. Solar lanterns are used as a direct substitution for portable kerosene lantern. Lanterns come with a solar PV charger, for each unit or as a charging station. A fully charged lantern can be used for at least 5 hours continuously. Wind Energy
Harnessing power from the wind is one of the cleanest and most sustainable ways to generate electricity as it produces no toxic pollution or global warming emissions. TaTEDO participated in a research to identify areas with potential wind speed in order to generate electricity for domestic and commercial use. A number of potential sites were identified and involved collection of information for future development of wind energy in Tanzania. At the end of the project, four sites were identified. These are: Gomvu (Dar es Salaam), Litembe (Mtwara), Mkumbara (Korogwe) and Karatu. Through special software known as Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Programme (WAsP), a one-year record of wind speeds and direction was used to project the long-term wind regime, which is very crucial in designing wind farms for electricity generation. Based on the analysis made, the most promising sites are Mkumbara and Karatu with average annual wind speeds of about 4.9 m/s and 5.5 Vr/m respectively. Other areas where assessments have been conducted are Kititimo (Singida) and Makambako (Iringa) which have been identified as having adequate wind speeds for grid-scale electricity generation. At Kititimo wind speeds average 9.9 miles per second and at Makambako they averaged 8.9 miles per second at a height of 30 m. TaTEDO as sustainable energy centre also developed a small micro wind turbine at Mbezi Juu. Due to geographical position and potential of this place a bigger wind turbine is needed. The electricity generated from other stand-alone systems at the centre together with one from wind turbine can help to alleviate the shortage of hydro electricity that prevails during the dry season or power ration. Small Hydro
TaTEDO has identified more than forty potential sites for micro hydro electricity production in Tanzania. Out of 40 sites, one site located at Kinko village, Lushoto District in Tanga Region was developed. The village is electrified by a 10KW micro-hydro plant. This was possible through a joint efforts of the project implemented with UNIDO. Low Carbon Energy Technologies for Rural Electrification
TaTEDO has continued to implement rural electrification initiatives in order to contribute to the ongoing efforts of improving access to electricity for rural population in Tanzania. A large number of households and people received electricity through solar PV Systems (mostly for lighting and phone charging). This was followed by Energy Services Platforms (ESPs) which are currently installed in 20 villages in Tanzania. Solar PV systems were installed in areas which brought their request to TaTEDO. Most of TaTEDO partners have capacity for installing these sustainable energy systems. Solar Phone Multi-chargers were implemented in off-grid areas to support telecommunication services. This is a way of enabling a large number of people to charge their cell-phones and communicate from remote rural areas Low Carbon Energy Technologies for Poverty Reduction
As a sustainable energy organization the objective is to scale up and commercialize sustainable modern energy technologies and services through self-sustaining markets networks for meeting productive energy needs in households, institutions and small and medium entrepreneurs. TaTEDO aims at contributing to poverty reduction and environmental conservation through increased access to sustainable modern energy technologies and services not only in Tanzania but also through knowledge sharing and regional cooperation with Kenya and Ugandan partners. Through enterprise development and commercialization of modern energy technologies men and women entrepreneurs are supported to scale up dissemination of sustainable modern energy technologies and services. The institutional and financial barriers hindering commercialization of these technologies are addressed in order to allow entrepreneurs to conduct viable and profitable businesses. TaTEDO also promotes productive uses of energy,” which is the context of providing modern energy services in rural areas. A productive use of energy is one that involves the application of energy derived mainly from renewable resources to create goods and/or services either directly or indirectly for the production of income or value.” The organization has been created employment to more than 6,500 people in urban and rural areas and created more than 1,950 income generating enterprises. In addition, TaTEDO has electrified 1,503 households, 367 SMEs, 86 schools, 64 health centres by renewable energy stand-alone systems and connection from mini-grids. Future Prospects of Low Emission Solutions in Tanzania
East Africa is blessed with abundant, high-quality low carbon energy resources, which are largely untapped. Currently, the East African countries can generate electricity from renewable energy resources, including captive generation in sugar, tannin and sisal factories, which if could be tapped will greatly contribute to the efforts of low emission solutions. Many parts of East Africa are located away from the main national electricity grid and have little realistic prospect of becoming connected in the near future. Solar home systems and biomass related mini-grids are viable options for lighting. For business enterprises which require lights for elongating time of doing businesses, solar has high potential of improving performance and revenue in these types of commercial enterprises. Compared to mini-grids powered by diesel generators, green mini-grids offer the prospect of more reliable and cheaper electricity, as well as greenhouse gas emission reductions. There is high potential of extending low emission energy technologies in off-grid areas not only to Tanzania but also in other East African countries. TaTEDO main areas are solid biomass, biowastes, solar, wind and small hydro. Possibly, other organisations in East Africa could get experiences from TaTEDO and find ways to exploit other areas based on the endowment of energy resources in their countries. The rapid growth of the solar PV market began in the 1980s developed further to the extent of emerging a few solar energy enterprises due to capacity created by TaTEDO which led to establishment of Tanzania Solar Energy Association (TASEA) (Now a day called TAREA). There was also collaboration of developing low carbon emission technologies (solar PV inclusive) with other East African countries through East Africa Energy Technology Development Network (EAETDN). Sustainable energy applications are progressively finding their markets to different areas in East Africa both on-grid and off-grid areas. There is high prospect of investing in these areas and serve the planet due to renewable energy technology characteristics of generating low emissions. The future challenge of East Africa countries is to develop capacity for meeting the future energy demands of its rapidly growing urban population without depleting its forests. The improved cook stoves, biogas, green charcoal and use of biowastes for sustainable energy by TaTEDO are other areas which require resources for future development. There is possibility of investing in these areas and cut much of emissions from households, institutions and SMEs in urban and rural areas. There is possibility of potential of converting bio-residues into green charcoal (briquettes) and bio-char. According to Hanne K, 2012, the net GHG emission reduction when replacing charcoal from miombo woodlands with these charcoal briquettes is 78–557 kg of CO2eq MWh−1, or 42–84%, depending on whether the substituted charcoal can be considered carbon neutral or not. With respect to biogas, some of the envisaged benefits of biogas use to the national economy include the avoidable CO2 emissions. If biogas displaces kerosene, at least between 357–60,952 tons of CO2 per annum would be avoided. Improved cookstoves are more efficient and significantly reduce cooking time and fuel consumption compared with unimproved traditional three stone fireplaces and metal charcoal stoves. In addition, well performing improved cook stoves help significantly reducing fine particle emissions. High-quality non-carbonized briquettes as well as firewood are more eco-efficient than charcoal. This means that their carbon footprint, i.e. the amount of greenhouse gases that they emit, is smaller and consumer costs are low. For this reason, people need to be supported in climbing up the energy ladder from traditional three stone stoves to the use of improved cookstoves and later switch to more low emission and efficient cooking fuels and technologies. Conclusion
The stakeholders in the East Africa are encouraged to promote low emission energy technologies such as solar PVs, biowastes gasifirers, wind, small hydro and improved firewood and non-carbonized briquette value chains, on account of their smaller carbon footprints. The high annual growth rate of the urban population (around 4%) leads to a continued increase in the demand for energy (both electricity and fuels). Therefore, the present priority in the East African Countries is to target the period of transition from traditional energy (inefficacy use of biomass and kerosene) to modern energy services of using solar, wind, small hydro, gasification, etc. There many low emission solutions that could be recommended to urban and rural communities in East Africa. However, adequate solutions should take into account people’s current practices and preference for sustainable energy technologies while helping to reduce health hazards from noxious emissions and environmental impacts.