Energy Poverty
Over 1.25 billion people internationally are still without access to electricity, this number is made up of almost all of whom live in developing countries. This includes an estimate of 550 million people in Africa, and over 400 million people in India . Access to electricity must be environmentally and socially sustainable. Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and some parts of Asia all face similar energy challenges.
In some countries the price of electricity is too high for the poor and as such they are criminalized when they illegally steal electrical power from the national grids. According to data collected by the world bank roughly 2.8 billion people still use solid fuels.
Every year fumes and smoke from open cooking fires kill approximately 1.5 million people mostly women and children, from emphysema and other respiratory diseases. This does not include the millions killed yearly in fires caused by kerosene lanterns or poisoning from the fumes produced from the lanterns.
Without access to electricity, the poor will be deprived of the most basic of human rights and of economicopportunities to improve their standard of living. People cannot access modern hospital medical equipment without electricity, or feel relief from sweltering heat. Food cannot be refrigerated and businesses cannot function.
Children cannot learn in school in rural deprived areas due to dark classrooms, or study and complete homework at home during the evening. The list of deprivation due to the lack of access to energy is continuous, and our renewable energy solutions coupled with our job creation will help tackle these dire problems.