Flora Vano is country manager at ActionAid Vanuatu.

We are living at a time when women and girls are experiencing significant rollbacks of their rights across the board, in health, climate action, education, politics; you name it, it’s happening all around us.

As the world’s attention is fixed on the geopolitical issues dominating news headlines, important decisions affecting women’s futures are being made and women are not in the room. Women’s hard-won freedoms through the years are being stripped away either in broad daylight or in the darkness of the night.

But there is hope. A generation of women is organising in resistance. A generation aware that strength lies in numbers and that collective power can bring real, concrete change. This International Women’s Day marks a moment to reflect on the power of collective determination.

When women thrive, so do communities.

In my country, Vanuatu, we face constant climate crises that continue to wreak havoc across the board, affecting livelihoods and women’s participation in critical sectors of society.

Off-grid solar lights up Lawital

Most stories that come out of Vanuatu tend to focus on the adverse impacts of the climate crisis and other socio-economic challenges. It is well documented how tropical cyclones, droughts and earthquakes, among other climate change-induced disasters, have affected our people.

However, amid these crises, a powerful narrative of resilience is being written, led by women.

Over the past year, ActionAid – in partnership with the Australian government, PowerWells and the Women I Tok Tok Tugeta (WITTT) Network – has implemented a women-led, off-grid solar project in Vanuatu’s Lawital village on Tanna Island. The project has transformed the community which previously had no electricity. It has ignited hope.

Every single one of the 115 homes in Lawital is now connected to off-grid solar power, thanks to the women-led project designed to improve safety, livelihoods, education and wellbeing in the community of 800 people.

For those who could not afford kerosene lamps, their children were unable to study or do their homework at night. Once the sunlight vanished, the books were closed and their day was over. It was a similar story for women’s market stalls which had to close at the setting of the sun.

The narrative has changed.

Breaking traditional barriers

The impact of the solar project has been nothing short of transformative, positioning women as the primary leaders of transformation in their communities. By mastering the technical skills needed to install solar systems, the women have fundamentally altered the trajectory of their daily lives.

The introduction of reliable solar-powered light has revolutionised education for the children in this community. Children who once had to rush toward the road to catch the fading daylight for their schoolwork can now study safely and comfortably at home after sunset.

Moreover, the solar project has fostered a more stable social environment. Women are earning additional income and operating their businesses and markets into the night. The streets are safer now too, thanks to better lighting.

In a region like ours, where cyclones are a constant threat and often result in property damage, these women have also been trained to protect their investments.

In the past, a storm meant the destruction of infrastructure across our communities. To safeguard the gains of this project, the women were trained in rapid-response protocols to safely uninstall the solar systems before a storm hits and reinstall them when the skies clear.

The sight of local women climbing ladders, securing mounting brackets, and wiring panels has done more than provide electricity, it has shifted the social fabric of the community.

Women-led change needs sustainable funding

The resilience and tenacity of the women in Lawital are commendable and serve as a clear reminder that with the right tools and support, women-led initiatives are the key to tackling challenges where the women themselves are the most affected.

As we commemorate International Women’s Day and Women’s Month, governments and stakeholders must ensure that movements led by women get sustainable funding to mobilise effectively and create lasting change.

The women trained under this project are now an inspiration in their communities and are leading a revolution. This is proof that, with adequate resources and opportunities for women-led interventions, the foundations can be set to achieve the United Nations’ theme of “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls“.

The post How women transformed a Vanuatu community with off-grid solar appeared first on Climate Home News.

How women transformed a Vanuatu community with off-grid solar

The backers of a rare earths mining project in the arid plains of western South Africa say they have the answer to challenging China’s dominance in global supply chains – a by-product that is also crucial to the clean energy transition.

Producing rare earths used to make permanent magnets for wind turbines and electric vehicles (EVs) can be complex and is often unviable due to the costs, helping to explain the European Union’s decision to put the Zandkopsdrift project on its list of “strategic” mining ventures to reduce its dependence on China.

“We’re expected to be … the lowest-cost producer of magnet rare earths outside China,” Philip Kenny, chair of project owner Frontier Rare Earths, said in a media statement in February.

Zandkopsdrift aims to produce 4,000 metric tons of magnet rare earths per year by 2030 – equal to 17% of the EU’s projected needs. Last month, the miner signed an agreement with French company Carester SAS, which will separate and process the mine’s rare earths at a large-scale facility being built in France.

Central to the company’s business plan for Zandkopsdrift’s rare earths output is a by-product – battery-grade manganese, which the project aims to produce more cheaply than anywhere else in the world.

Manganese is increasingly used in the cathodes of lithium-ion EV batteries. Manganese-rich lithium-ion batteries significantly reduce the need for other minerals such as nickel and cobalt, which have been associated with social and environmental impacts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia. However, nearly all of the manganese sulphate used in batteries is currently produced by China.

“We will be the lowest (battery-grade manganese) cost producer in the world. We will have a production cost approximately 20% of China’s,” James Kenny, the company’s CEO, told an EU minerals conference in Brussels last year.

‘Untested’ processing route

While the model is promising, combining rare earth extraction with battery-grade manganese production at a commercial scale is an untested processing route, said Gaylor Montmasson-Clair, an energy consultant and analyst based in Pretoria.

“The production costs claimed are certainly eye-catching and, if verified, would be disruptive,” said Montmasson-Clair, who specialises in issues related to the transition to a green economy.

“However, there is a significant gap between prefeasibility projections and operational reality,” he said, noting that commercial production of rare earths is particularly sensitive to rates of mineral extraction and the costs of chemicals involved in the process.

The project – which will produce the rare earth compounds neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium oxide – remains at the feasibility stage, with a Definitive Feasibility Study due for completion in mid-2027.

“We won’t know the true cost curve until the definitive feasibility study is complete and, ultimately, until the plant is running,” Montmasson-Clair added.

Frontier Rare Earths did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Troubled mining legacy

The project fits in with South Africa’s aim to become a key supplier of critical minerals as countries scramble to secure up supplies of rare earths – a group of 17 elements that are needed to produce a diverse range of goods, including technologies for the clean energy transition.

President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a partnership on critical minerals with the EU in November, and the Industrial Development Corp (IDC), a state development finance institution, has invested $20 million in Zandkopsdrift.

Like other countries with a long and troubled mining legacy, South Africa wants to ensure that the mistakes of past mining booms are not repeated.

That means limiting the damage and disruption to the surrounding environment and communities, creating local jobs and adding value to raw materials exports by processing minerals domestically.

A commitment to meeting higher standards

Frontier Rare Earths has committed to an assessment by the US-based Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), a voluntary global certification system for socially and environmentally responsible mining that gives miners an opportunity to show they are going beyond compliance.

“The intention is for the IRMA Standard to be useful early in the planning and development process so that future mines are developed in ways that reduce harm from the start,” Aimee Boulanger, IRMA’s executive director, told Climate Home News.

“The full audit report is made public, including the score for each requirement and the auditors’ notes on what evidence they found,” Boulanger said.

Steps pledged by the company for Zandkopsdrift include water-recycling systems to minimise consumption in the semi-arid Namaqualand region where it lies, local procurement targets and tailings storage facilities that are designed to prevent acidic mine drainage.

Additionally, under South Africa’s flagship Black economic empowerment programme, local communities will also hold a 26% stake in the project.

And as a means to add value and create extra jobs, the IDC holds an option to buy up to 10% of Zandkopsdrift’s production at prevailing market prices, subject to it being used in further downstream processing in South Africa.

“That clause is crucial,” said Montmasson-Clair. “It suggests Pretoria sees value beyond simply digging and exporting. The question is whether South Africa has the industrial capacity to absorb that material, or whether this will catalyse new local beneficiation industries.”

“Who actually benefits?”

Despite the promises of economic benefits, some local people in Namaqualand are wary about the prospect of new mining projects in the semi-desert region, formerly a major diamond-producing area.

Water shortages are a constant worry here, especially among small-scale cattle farmers, and memories of past environmental abuses by mining companies linger.

“We have seen these promises before,” said Sarah Baartman, chair of the Namaqualand Communities Mining Forum, a group formed to demand greater control over mining activities on their land due to concerns over environmental degradation and a lack of economic benefits and public consultation.

“The question is always: who actually benefits? Every mining company says they will be different. Then the water tables drop, dust coats our livestock, and when the mine closes, we are left with contaminated land.”

The post South African rare earths project aims to rival Chinese with low-cost model appeared first on Climate Home News.

South African rare earths project aims to rival Chinese with low-cost model

Conflict in the Middle East could have major repercussions for U.S. electricity and natural gas prices. Some states, like Pennsylvania, are particularly vulnerable.

By Kiley Bense

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine set off a global energy crisis in 2022, sending prices for oil and gas skyrocketing in Europe and the U.S. for months on end. Many Americans struggled to keep up with their bills, and disconnections—when utility companies shut off power or heat because of nonpayment—spiked.

How Will the War in Iran Affect Your Utility Bills?