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The solar lantern is a revolutionary piece of technology.

Operating with a small in-built solar panel, connected to a battery and using an LED light bulb, it can transform how rural communities see the world.

Its use in places without access to mains electricity has taken off in the past 15 years, alongside the wider growth in solar power around the world.

An estimated 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa still live without reliable access to electricity, according to the World Bank. The introduction of solar power – coupled with energy-efficient lighting – is key in tackling this problem.

Many villages not served by national grids are forced to use kerosene lamps and candles, or burn straw in the evening, which is costly and dangerous to human health. London-based think-tank ODI Global estimates that low-income households in Africa spend US$6.5 billion a year on such inefficient lighting options.

Solar power changes the equation, allowing streets to be lit, children to study at night, and a sense of security to exist. Greater electricity access enables farmers to work an extended day and use solar-powered irrigation and cooling systems to grow and process their crops.

African leaders seek investments in ailing grid infrastructure to achieve energy goals

“Reliable and affordable energy creates economic transformation,” said Eva Roig, a spokesperson for GOGLA, an Amsterdam-based trade body for the off-grid solar energy industry. The organisation estimates that US$9 billion in additional income has already been created by businesses as a result of switching to solar in place of fossil fuel alternatives.

“In off-grid locations, lack of energy restrains farmers from higher productivity and, with a growing young population, offers few employment opportunities or possibilities to create new businesses,” she added.

The challenge for off-grid solar power is to reach the hundreds of millions of people in need and create a stable market for its continuance.

Electric power key to tackling poverty

UK charity SolarAid was founded in 2006 with the aim of creating a world “where everyone has access to clean, renewable energy” and eradicating the use of kerosene lamps in Africa.

A couple of years later it set up SunnyMoney, a social enterprise which uses a community distribution model to raise awareness and increase demand for solar power. Local teachers explain how the technology works and independent agents sell the products. SunnyMoney supports them with logistics, training and engagement along the way.

“We believe that access to electricity is fundamental in the fight against poverty. Access to solar lighting and power means that families are saving money, extending productive hours, increasing access to study hours and also increasing safety,” explained John Keane, CEO at SolarAid, based in Zambia.

The charity has reportedly helped 12 million people through the social enterprise, with projects in Senegal, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and Malawi.

While models such as SunnyMoney can stoke the solar market, larger businesses need to step in and supply the kit itself. D.light is one of the solar companies that has done more than most to bring affordable solar power to some of the remotest villages in Africa.

Finance for renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa is defying the odds

The US company is deeply embedded across the continent, with a vision to make solar products accessible to low-income families. The business had one of its most successful years in 2024, and says it reached 24 million people with solar systems last year alone.

But it hasn’t always been plain sailing. “I don’t think we realised how difficult it would be to commercialise and scale off-grid solar products,” d.light’s founder and CEO, Nedjip Tozun, commented in an interview last year.

While its products now power around 32 million homes, building that capacity took time, patience and good fortune. Tozun explained that during the early years in the mid 2000s the difficulties lay in building a high-quality product which could be distributed to remote areas and with financing to enable people to pay for it. The company was forced to create those capabilities in-house in order to scale and overcome external barriers.

Funding energy efficiency to expand use

Improving energy efficiency is one such challenge the off-grid industry has sought to solve. Solar devices need to hold the sun’s energy long enough to be used for a wide range of purposes. This is where LED lighting comes in.

“Over the past 10 years, the growing availability of increasingly energy-efficient appliances, such as LED lighting is transforming what’s possible,” said Keane. “It’s the foundation for designing inclusive solutions that deliver long-term impact.”

The main benefits, he explained, is that LED lighting drastically reduces the amount of electricity needed to light homes, enabling households on lower incomes to meet their essential needs with small solar systems.

As off-grid solar kits are small by design, using the power with efficient lighting or low-voltage appliances, such as refrigerators, means the energy goes further and is matched to the user’s needs.

Pairing solar with technologies to support economic activity, so-called “productive use”, is a growing area within the industry. Solar can be applied in a range of commercial settings, and on any number of appliances, from sewing machines to water pumps, or from seed pressers to ceiling fans. But to do so effectively those appliances need to be energy-efficient and upgrading is expensive.

Rice farmer Danjuma Okuwa adjusts his newly installed electric rice milling machine which runs on solar power from a micro-grid in at his compound in Rukubi, Nasarawa, Nigeria, September 27, 2022. (Photo: Thomson Reuters Foundation/Afolabi Sotunde)

Rice farmer Danjuma Okuwa adjusts his newly installed electric rice milling machine which runs on solar power from a micro-grid in at his compound in Rukubi, Nasarawa, Nigeria, September 27, 2022. (Photo: Thomson Reuters Foundation/Afolabi Sotunde)

New financing initiatives such as PUFF – the Productive Use Financing Facility – are playing a role by offering subsidies to suppliers to help bring down the costs for farmers and businesses. After a successful pilot, the scheme was recently extended with an additional US$6.1 million to support access to 10,000 “high-impact” appliances, according to CLASP, a non-profit which started the initiative.

“Efficient appliances and equipment turn energy into opportunity and should be considered essential energy infrastructure, alongside renewables,” commented Emmanuel Aziebor, a senior director at CLASP, in a media statement.

chart visualization

Financial barriers to adoption

Overall, the coming together of small solar technology, LED lighting and socially minded businesses has grown the market significantly over the past decade.

In Kenya, off-grid solar now accounts for an estimated 75% of rural electricity access. The country has a target to reach universal access by 2030 and solar plays a big part in the government’s plans.

But the same barriers to scaling the market remain. Despite the success of using mobile technology and pay-as-you-go models to spread out costs for the consumer, affordable solar products are still out of reach for many. Research from ESMAP, an energy programme run by the World Bank, found that only 22% of households that lack electricity globally could afford the monthly payment to access a basic solar lantern and home system able to provide power for at least four hours a day.

“Governments should fully integrate off-grid solar into their national energy plans and programmes,” said Roig of GOGLA, adding that incentives such as tax breaks, subsidies and public-private partnerships are needed to reach the poorest households.

Making solar affordable for all

One way to bring down costs for consumers is to de-risk investments for solar power producers. The Beyond Grid for Zambia pilot project sought to do exactly that by providing financing to companies on a per-connection basis.

The project, which ran from 2016 to 2022, also worked with the Zambian government to smooth market access, such as providing a VAT exemption for LED lights. The successful results – with over 194,000 households fitted with off-grid solar – have led to ambitious plans to scale the project across the whole African continent.

The remoteness of many villages makes repairing and maintaining solar kits another challenge. Collecting, servicing and replacing these products can be expensive for companies. Research from SolarAid suggests that while manufacturers agree that repair work needs to improve, it remains an ambition for many.

A nurse is pictured in a private health clinic lit by solar power from a micro-grid in a rural village in Nigeria’s Nasarawa state, September 2022 (Photo: Megan Rowling)

A nurse is pictured in a private health clinic lit by solar power from a micro-grid in a rural village in Nigeria’s Nasarawa state, September 2022 (Photo: Megan Rowling)

Among the possible solutions include extending warranty times, providing technical training in-country, and greater guidance on how to conduct repairs at the community level. SunnyMoney already provides technicians with its own mobile repair app, which could be expanded and used as a template for manufacturers.

Despite the challenges, the work to reach tens of millions of remote households is being reinforced and stepped up. SolarAid is midway through a pilot project to connect TA Kasakula, a village in rural Malawi where almost all residents live in extreme poverty. The project is trialling a new financing model which eliminates upfront costs, with customers only paying for the electricity they use.

The stories coming back to the social enterprise are of revelation and changed lives. “When we switched on the lights, some children were dancing, jumping,” reported Goodwill Kongalwa. “Then everyone rushed to where there were books because they saw they had a chance to study at home.”

Adam Wentworth is a freelance writer based in Brighton, UK.

The post How off-grid solar is beating the odds to transform lives in rural Africa appeared first on Climate Home News.

How off-grid solar is beating the odds to transform lives in rural Africa

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Colombia proposes expert group to advance talks on minerals agreement

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Colombia wants countries to discuss options for a global agreement to ensure that the extraction, processing and recycling of minerals – including those needed for the clean energy transition – don’t harm the environment and human wellbeing.

The mineral-rich nation is proposing to create an expert group to “identify options for international instruments, including global and legally-binding instruments, for coordinated global action on the environmentally sound management of minerals and metals through [their] full lifecyle”.

Colombia hopes this will eventually lead to an agreement on the need for an international treaty to define mandatory rules and standards that would make mineral value chains more transparent and accountable.

The proposal was set out in a draft resolution submitted to the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) earlier this week and seen by Climate Home News. UNEA, which is constituted of all UN member states, is the world’s top decision-making body for matters relating to the environment. The assembly’s seventh session will meet in Kenya in December to vote on countries’ proposals.

    Soaring demand for the minerals used to manufacture clean energy technologies and electric vehicles, as well as in the digital, construction and defence industries have led to growing environmental destruction, human rights violations and social conflict.

    Colombia argues there is an “urgent need” to strengthen global cooperation and governance to reduce the risks to people and the planet.

    Options for a global minerals agreement

    The proposal is among a flurry of initiatives to strength global mineral governance at a time when booming demand is putting pressure on new mining projects.

    Colombia, which produces emeralds, gold, platinum and silver for exports, first proposed the idea for a binding international agreement on minerals traceability and accountability on the sidelines of the UN biodiversity talks it hosted in October 2024.

    Since then, the South American nation has been quietly trying to drum up support for the idea, especially among African and European nations.

    Its draft resolution to UNEA7 contains very few details, leaving it open for countries to discuss what kind of global instrument would be best suited to make mineral supply chains more transparent and sustainable.

    Does the world need a global treaty on energy transition minerals?

    Colombia says it wants the expert group to build on other UN initiatives, including a UN Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, which set out seven principles to ensure the mining, processing and recycling of energy transition minerals are done responsibly and benefit everyone.

    The group would include technical experts and representatives from international and regional conventions, major country groupings as well as relevant stakeholders.

    It would examine the feasibility and effectiveness of different options for a global agreement, consider their costs and identify measures to support countries to implement what is agreed.

    The resolution also calls for one or two meetings for member states to discuss the idea before the UNEA8 session planned in late 2027, when countries would decide on a way forward.

    No time to lose for treaty negotiations

    Colombia’s efforts to advance global talks on mineral supply chains have been welcomed by resource experts and campaigners. But not everyone agrees on the best strategy to move the discussion forward at a time when multilateralism is coming under attack.

    Johanna Sydow, a resource policy expert who heads the international environmental policy division of the Heinrich-Böll Foundation, said she had hoped that the resolution would explicitly call for negotiations to begin on an international minerals treaty.

    “Treaty negotiations take a long time. If you don’t even start with it now, it will take even longer. I don’t see how in two or three years it will be easier to come to an agreement,” she told Climate Home.

      Despite the geopolitical challenges, “we need joint rules to prevent a huge race to the bottom for [mineral] standards”. That could start with a group of countries coming together and starting to enforce joint standards for mining, processing and recycling minerals, she said.

      But any meaningful global agreement on mineral supply chains would require backing from China, the world’s largest processor of minerals, which dominates most of the supply chains. And with Colombia heading for an election in May, it will need all the support it can get to move its proposal forward.

      ‘Voluntary initiative won’t cut it’

      Juliana Peña Niño, Colombia country manager at the Natural Resource Governance Institute, is more optimistic. “Colombia’s leadership towards fairer mineral value chains is a welcome step,” she told Climate Home News.

      “At UNEA7, we need an ambitious debate that gives the proposed expert group a clear mandate to advance concrete next steps — not delay decisions — and that puts the voices of those most affected at the centre. One thing is clear: the path forward must ultimately deliver a binding instrument, as yet another voluntary initiative simply won’t cut it,” she said.

      More than 50 civil society groups spanning Latin America, Africa and Europe previously described Colombia’s work on the issue as “a chance to build a new global paradigm rooted in environmental integrity, human rights, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, justice and equity”.

      “As the energy transition and digitalisation drive demand for minerals, we cannot afford to repeat old extractive models built on asymmetry – we must redefine them,” they wrote in a statement.


      Main image: The UN Environment Assembly is hosted in Nairobi, Kenya. (Natalia Mroz/ UN Environment)

      The post Colombia proposes expert group to advance talks on minerals agreement appeared first on Climate Home News.

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      Climate Change

      California Sanctions Stark Disparities in Pesticide Exposure During Pregnancy

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      If you’re young, pregnant and Latina, chances are you live near agricultural fields sprayed with higher levels of brain-damaging organophosphate pesticides.

      A baby in the womb has few defenses against industrial petrochemicals designed to kill.

      California Sanctions Stark Disparities in Pesticide Exposure During Pregnancy

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      Climate Change

      DeBriefed 3 October 2025: UK political gap on climate widens; Fossil-fuelled Typhoon Ragasa; ‘Overshoot’ unknowns

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      Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed.
      An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.

      This week

      Shattered climate consensus

      FRACKING BAN: UK energy secretary Ed Miliband has announced that the government will bring forward its plans to permanently ban fracking, in a move designed to counter a promise from the hard-right Reform party to restart efforts to introduce the practice, the Guardian said. In the same speech, Miliband said Reform’s plans to scrap clean-energy projects would “betray” young people and future generations, the Press Association reported.

      ACT AXE?: Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservatives, pledged to scrap the 2008 Climate Change Act if elected, Bloomberg reported. It noted that the legislation was passed with cross-party support and strengthened by the Conservatives.
      ‘INSANE’: Badenoch faced a backlash from senior Tory figures, including ex-prime minister Theresa May, who called her pledge a “catastrophic mistake”, said the Financial Times. The newspaper added that the Conservatives were “trailing third in opinion polls”. A wide range of climate scientists also condemned the idea, describing it as “insane”, an “insult” and a “serious regression”.

      Around the world

      • CLIMATE CRACKDOWN: The US Department of Energy has told employees in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to avoid using the term “climate change”, according to the Guardian.
      • FOREST DELAY: Plans for Brazil’s COP30 flagship initiative, the tropical forests forever fund, are “suffer[ing] delays” as officials remain split on key details, Bloomberg said.
      • COP MAY BE ‘SPLIT’: Australia could “split” the hosting of the COP31 climate summit in 2026 under a potential compromise with Turkey, reported the Guardian.
      • DIVINE INTERVENTION: Pope Leo XIV has criticised those who minimise the “increasingly evident” impact of global warming in his first major climate speech, BBC News reported.

      €44.5 billion

      The  cost of extreme weather and climate change in the EU in the last four years – two-and-a-half times higher than in the decade to 2019, according to a European Environment Agency report covered by the Financial Times.


      Latest climate research

      (For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.)

      Captured

      Bar chart showing that Great Britain has been fully powered by clean energy for a record 87 hours in 2025 to date

      Clean energy has met 100% of Great Britain’s electricity demand for a record 87 hours this year so far, according to new Carbon Brief analysis. This is up from just 2.5 hours in 2021 and 64.5 hours in all of 2024. The longest stretch of time where 100% of electricity demand was met by clean energy stands at 15 hours, from midnight on 25 May 2025 through to 3pm on 26 May, according to the analysis.

      Spotlight

      ‘Overshoot’ unknowns

      As the chances of limiting global warming to 1.5C dwindle, there is increasing focus on the prospects for “overshooting” the Paris Agreement target and then bringing temperatures back down by removing CO2 from the atmosphere.

      At the first-ever Overshoot Conference in Laxenburg, Austria, Carbon Brief asks experts about the key unknowns around warming “overshoot”.

      Sir Prof Jim Skea

      Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and emeritus professor at Imperial College London’s Centre for Environmental Policy

      So there are huge knowledge gaps around overshoot and carbon dioxide removal (CDR). As it’s very clear from the themes of this conference, we don’t altogether understand how the Earth would react in taking CO2 out of the atmosphere.

      We don’t understand the nature of the irreversibilities and we don’t understand the effectiveness of CDR techniques, which might themselves be influenced by the level of global warming, plus all the equity and sustainability issues surrounding using CDR techniques.

      Prof Kristie Ebi

      Professor at the University of Washington’s Center for Health and the Global Environment

      There are all kinds of questions about adaptation and how to approach effective adaptation. At the moment, adaptation is primarily assuming a continual increase in global mean surface temperature. If there is going to be a peak – and of course, we don’t know what that peak is – then how do you start planning? Do you change your planning?

      There are places, for instance when thinking about hard infrastructure, [where overshoot] may result in a change in your plan – because as you come down the backside, maybe the need would be less. For example, when building a bridge taller. And when implementing early warning systems, how do you take into account that there will be a peak and ultimately a decline? There is almost no work in that. I would say that’s one of the critical unknowns.

      Dr James Fletcher

      Former minister for public service, sustainable development, energy, science and technology for Saint Lucia and negotiator at COP21 in Paris.

      The key unknown is where we’re going to land. At what point will we peak [temperatures] before we start going down and how long will we stay in that overshoot period? That is a scary thing. Yes, there will be overshoot, but at what point will that overshoot peak? Are we peaking at 1.6C, 1.7C, 2.1C?

      All of these are scary scenarios for small island developing states – anything above 1.5C is scary. Every fraction of a degree matters to us. Where we peak is very important and how long we stay in this overshoot period is equally important. That’s when you start getting into very serious, irreversible impacts and tipping points.

      Prof Oliver Geden

      Senior fellow and head of the climate policy and politics research cluster at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs and vice-chair of IPCC Working Group III

      [A key unknown] is whether countries are really willing to commit to net-negative trajectories. We are assuming, in science, global pathways going net-negative, with hardly any country saying they want to go there. So maybe it is just an academic thought experiment. So we don’t know yet if [overshoot] is even relevant. It is relevant in the sense that if we do, [the] 1.5C [target] stays on the table. But I think the next phase needs to be that countries – or the UNFCCC as a whole – needs to decide what they want to do.

      Prof Lavanya Rajamani

      Professor of international environmental law at the University of Oxford

      I think there are several scientific unknowns, but I would like to focus on the governance unknowns with respect to overshoot. To me, a key governance unknown is the extent to which our current legal and regulatory architecture – across levels of governance, so domestic, regional and international – will actually be responsive to the needs of an overshoot world and the consequences of actually not having regulatory and governance architectures in place to address overshoot.

      Watch, read, listen

      FUTURE GAZING: The Financial Times examined a “future where China wins the green race”.

      ‘JUNK CREDITS’: Climate Home News reported on a “forest carbon megaproject” in Zimbabwe that has allegedly “generated millions of junk credits”.
      ‘SINK OR SWIM’: An extract from a new book on how the world needs to adapt to climate change, by Dr Susannah Fisher, featured in Backchannel.

      Coming up

      Pick of the jobs

      DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to debriefed@carbonbrief.org.

      This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s weekly DeBriefed email newsletter. Subscribe for free here.

      The post DeBriefed 3 October 2025: UK political gap on climate widens; Fossil-fuelled Typhoon Ragasa; ‘Overshoot’ unknowns appeared first on Carbon Brief.

      DeBriefed 3 October 2025: UK political gap on climate widens; Fossil-fuelled Typhoon Ragasa; ‘Overshoot’ unknowns

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