“LaBL”, an energy solution for the climate
The conference was held at the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transportation and Housing on Tuesday, December 20, 2011, upon the signing of the partnership between the Ateliers de la Terre and TERI.
The TERI, a major independent research organization, providing expertise on energy environmental issues, forestry, biotechnology, and resource conservation, has successfully developed a program in India, entitled LaBL (Lighting a Billion Lives). It started with the realization that 1.4 billion people, 25% of whom live in India, are without electricity. This is an obstacle to development in general. At nightfall, condemns them to the use of lamps fueled with oil, wood, crop residues, or manure; with negative consequences on the environment.
The LaBL program began in 2007. It offers an alternative, sustainable, and universally affordable solution, with solar powered lanterns: 47,000 lanterns are currently used in 930 Indian villages.
The campaign currently spans the African continent, with pilot projects in Cameroon, Sierra Leone, the Central African Republic, Uganda, Malawi, Kenya, Ethiopia and Mozambique. With the signing of this partnership, TERI and the Ateliers de la Terre have joined forces to bring LaBL into the lives of Niger‘s villagers as well.
It should also be noted that during the press conference, Dr. Pachauri advocated more attention be paid to science on climate issues, noting that we should not expect “radically” new information on the reality of climate change the next IPCC publication (expected in 2014).