Skip Navigation

Climate Change & Energy: Renewable energy

Key Documents

Background reading

Displaying 1-5 of 5 key documents

CDM country factsheets

Source: Institute for Global Environment Strategies | May 2011

This series of factsheets publishes information on clean development mechanism (CDM) activities for Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, the Philippines and Thailand. CDM projects involve the use of clean technologies such as solar panels to generate emission reduction credits that can be counted towards meeting targets of the Kyoto Protocol.

The factsheets provide an overview of CDM project developments in Asia. They offer country-specific information, including domestic greenhouse gas emissions and useful references. They also outline national legislations, processes and criteria required for project approval. Some of the factsheets list examples of approved projects and contact details of the relevant authorities. The Indonesia report is available in Indonesian and the booklet is available in Japanese.

Rural energy supply models

Source: International Solar Energy Society (ISES)

This project outlines deployment models and decision support tools for supplying energy, including solar, to rural areas in developing countries. It showcases practical examples of rural energy supply from Africa, Asia and Latin America, including the use of solar home systems in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, among others. The project also lists experts in rural energy supply across different regions of the developing world.

Renewables Interactive Map

Source: Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21)

This interactive map provides information on policies, targets, shares, capacity, production and scenarios for renewable energy by technology and country or region. Information on the state of both solar photovoltaics and solar thermal is available, as well as wind power, geothermal energy, hydropower and biomass.

Special report: The rise of solar energy

Source: The Broker | April 2009

This special report, published in The Broker magazine, provides a collection of articles on solar energy. It includes an article on how solar thermal and solar photovoltaic technologies work, a report on solar energy in developing countries, and a case study of solar energy in India — from market trends to rural electrification programmes.

Global trends in sustainable energy investment 2009

Source: UN Environment Programme | 2009

This annual report from the UN Environment Programme highlights investment trends in renewable energy, including solar technologies. It finds that new investment in renewables continues to rise — despite the global financial crisis — as a result of a growing focus on climate change, energy insecurity, fossil fuel depletion and new technologies. In 2008, the solar sector received US$33.5 billion of new investment — a rise of 49 per cent from 2007.