• Energy Research

Access to reliable and affordable energy is vital for sustainable development. In the off-grid areas of developing countries, decentralized energy solutions have received increasing attention due to their contributions to reducing poverty. However, most of the rural population in many developing countries still has little or no access to modern energy technologies. This paper assesses the factors that determine the successes and failures of decentralized energy solutions based on local harmonized case studies from heterogeneous contexts from Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and South America. The case studies were analyzed through the coupled lenses of energy transition and the Water–Energy–Food Security (WEF) Nexus. The findings indicate that access to modern decentralized energy solutions has not resulted in complete energy transitions due to various tradeoffs with the other domains of the WEF Nexus. On the other hand, the case studies point at the potential for improvements in food security, incomes, health, the empowerment of women, and resource conservation when synergies between decentralized energy solutions and other components of the WEF Nexus are present.

This study examined smallholder farmers’ perception about climate change and variability compared with the observed metrological data and their adaptation strategies in response to the perceived impacts of climate change. The multistage sampling method was employed to select 358 rural farmers in Hawzen and Irob districts located in semiarid highlands of Eastern Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Moreover, areal gridded surface monthly rainfall and temperature data between 1983 and 2015 were collected from National Meteorology Agency of Ethiopia. The results revealed that about 98.56 and 92 percent of farmers perceived a decrease in annual rainfall. In addition, 87 and 90 percent of farmers noticed that temperature was increased in Hawzen and Irob districts, respectively. Harmoniously, the modified Mann–Kendall trend test confirmed that annual rainfall was decreased by 32.38 mm and 121.33 mm during the period of analysis. Furthermore, mean annual temperature increased statistically significant (p<0.001) by about 0.40°C and 0.39°C per decade during the period of analysis cognate with the farmers’ perception. To reduce the perceived impacts of climate change, farmers adopted various farm-level adaptation strategies that vary significantly between the two groups. Soil and water conservation, planting trees, crop varieties, changing crop calendar, biological conservation, and irrigation were among the dominant adaptation strategies, respectively, in the study area. The results of this study provide baseline information for local governments, subsequent researchers, and policy-makers in terms of farmers’ perception of climate change and adaptation strategies.

Purpose Ethiopia’s energy sector faces critical challenges to meeting steadily increasing energy demand given limited infrastructure, heavy reliance on hydroelectric power and underdevelopment of alternative energy resources. The purpose of this paper was to identify optimal least cost investment decisions for integrated energy source diversification. The authors seek to contribute to the relevant literature by paying particular attention to the role of public policy for promoting renewable energy investment and to better understand future energy security implications of various sources of uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach The authors created a dynamic linear programming model using General Algebraic Modelling System software to explore the national energy security implications of uncertainties associated with increasing technological advances and efficiency, and climate change scenarios. Findings To cope with the impacts of drought expected from future climate change on hydroelectric power production, Ethiopia would need to invest in the development of alternative energy resources. Such investment would not only enhance the sustainability and reliability of energy production but also increase costs. Greater rates of technological and efficiency innovations, however, were found to improve electricity diversification and reduce production costs and shadow prices or resource scarcity, and are thus key for enhancing energy security and reducing the risks posed by drought. Originality/value The dynamic linear programming model by the authors represents a flexible sector modelling tool for exploring the sustainability and efficiency of energy resource development pathways and evaluating the effects of different sources of uncertainty on the energy sector.

Abstract Smallholder dairy farms face enormous challenges of increasing milk production while also mitigating associated GHG emission, thereby increasing climate resilience. Carbon foot prints (CF) of smallholder milk production is expected to increase with increasing demand for dairy products under business as usual scenario. This study estimate the carbon foot prints of smallholder milk production and examine variation across farms using data from 480 households in order to identify viable options for mitigating GHG emissions. We applied a cradle to farm-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to examine the effects of farming systems on GHG emissions intensifies across intensification gradients of smallholder farm (SHF) from four dairy potential districts in central highlands of Ethiopia. Our study findings revealed that enteric fermentation was the primary source of GHG emission and CH4 emission from enteric fermentation and manure management comprised the bulk of total emission across farms. The estimated average CF varies depending on farm systems, Global Warming Potential (GWP), and allocation methods used. When GHG emissions were allocated to multiple products using economic allocation to milk, beef, finance and insurances, the overall average CF of milk production reported was 1.91 and 2.35 kg CO2e/kg fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM), and on average 72% of total GHG emissions were allocated to milk. With regard to farm typology, rural SHF tended to have significantly higher CF per kg of milk than urban and peri-urban SHF system. Variation in milk yield explained more than 50% of the variation in GHG emission intensity at farm level. Feed digestibility and feed efficiency had a negative and significant (P < 0.01) association with CF of SHF. Our findings suggested that improved feeding by increasing the proportion of concentrate and improved forage, and chemically upgrading straw and crop residue could provide opportunity to both increase milk yield and reduce the CF of milk production of SHF in the study area. Supporting SHF to realize strategies that contribute to climate resilient dairy development will requires interventions at several level in dairy value chain.

Abstract It is well known that poor rural households in low-income economies are reliant on traditional fuels to meet basic domestic energy needs, but little is known about the specific underlying socio-economic drivers of residential fuel choices in Ethiopia. I used the linear approximation almost ideal demand system (LAAIDS) with normalized prices to compute expenditure elasticity and a multinomial logit model (MLM) to examine household fuel use. The LAAIDS model result showed that expenditure was elastic for modern fuels, but inelastic for traditional fuels. Regression results from the MLM indicated that fuel choice behaviour of rural households could be more accurately described as ‘fuel stacking’ behaviour as opposed to the ‘energy ladder’ hypothesis. In rural areas household fuel choice may be constrained by limited access to commercial fuels and efficient cook stoves, supply dependency and affordability, consumer preferences and a web of other intricate factors. Rural households had less incentive for fuel switching due to underlying factors and the availability of fuel wood without direct financial cost. With continued deforestation and receding forests, households are expected to develop inter fuel substitution and switching behaviour conditional on access to modern energy technologies.