{"id":55,"date":"2009-12-15T05:05:00","date_gmt":"2009-12-15T05:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ec2-54-213-215-163.us-west-2.compute.amazonaws.com\/?p=55"},"modified":"2022-10-25T19:22:00","modified_gmt":"2022-10-25T19:22:00","slug":"copenhagen-update-its-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/index.php\/2009\/12\/15\/copenhagen-update-its-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Copenhagen Update: It&#8217;s Time!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u201c<strong>I\u2019m lovin\u2019 it\u201d??<\/strong>&nbsp; There is still hope in Copenhagen. And a sense that our time is running out.&nbsp; The sincerity of the world\u2019s young people is on full display, as&nbsp;<strong>Bishop Desmond Tutu<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=L9pFLJSxCd0\">observed<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"540\" height=\"355\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/copenhagenpeace.jpg\" alt=\"copenhagenpeace.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-146\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The question I\u2019m raising is:\u00a0<strong>Can our governments and our businesses show the same level of commitment?<br><br><\/strong>Earlier, Bishop Tutu had raised the question of how much rich nations are willing to pay poor ones to secure emission cuts.\u00a0 The point he made is that one we have been making for some time now:\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/index.php\/2009\/12\/10\/hope-for-copenhagen-fighting-energy-povertyhope-for-copenhagen-fighting-energy-poverty\/\">The fight against energy poverty must be a global priority<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"405\" height=\"273\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/tutu.jpg\" alt=\"tutu.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-147\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Our position is simple:\u00a0E<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/2008\/05\/why-blog-because-energy-is-a-h.htm\">ner<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/index.php\/2008\/05\/01\/why-blog-because-energy-is-a-human-right-2\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/index.php\/2008\/05\/01\/why-blog-because-energy-is-a-human-right-2\/\">gy is a human right<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A few days ago,&nbsp;<strong>Prince Nasheed<\/strong>&nbsp;of the&nbsp;<strong>Maldives&nbsp;<\/strong>eloquently&nbsp;invited leaders to join him in signing a pact for the survival of their low-lying coastal countries, instead of a \u201csuicide pact\u201d at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen.&nbsp;Watch:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"480\" height=\"385\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mlzVnH_8jFA\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Steven Chu<\/strong>, the US Secretary of Energy, announced a&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2009\/12\/14\/AR2009121400043.html\">plan to deploy clean technology<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;on Monday, and I know&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.self.org\/\">SELF<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;can play an effective role in his Climate Renewables and Efficiency Deployment Initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In yesterday\u2019s edition of the<em>&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2009\/12\/14\/AR2009121400043.html\">Washington Post<\/a><\/strong><\/em>,&nbsp;<strong>Juliet Eilper<\/strong><strong>in<\/strong>&nbsp;cites the&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.self.org\/\">Solar Electric Light Fund<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp; as an organization with a proven track record of&nbsp;<strong>bringing cost-effective solar solutions to poor villages in the developing world<\/strong>. Working with government, industry and non-governmental organization partners,&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.self.org\/\">SELF<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;has facilitated solar electricity projects in twenty countries, including Benin, Bhutan, Brazil, Burundi, China, C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, India, Indonesia, Losotho, Navajo Nation, Nepal, Nigeria, Rwanda, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve been at it for&nbsp;<strong>twenty years<\/strong>.&nbsp; Here\u2019s what we do:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Bring partners and participants together<\/li><li>Establish \u201cin-country\u201d joint ventures and \u201cfor-profit partnerships\u201d<\/li><li>Develop projects with community and local stakeholders<\/li><li>Identify options, formalize project design<\/li><li>Develop written proposals<\/li><li>Design micro-finance mechanisms<\/li><li>Provide technical design of photovoltaic systems<\/li><li>Procure project equipment<\/li><li>Train solar technicians<\/li><li>Manage system installation<\/li><li>Manage partner relationships<\/li><li>Build the capacity of local partners<\/li><li>Prepare evaluations and reports<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Our goal?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We work to deliver solar power and wireless communications to rural villages in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.<br><strong><br><a href=\"http:\/\/www.self.org\/\">SELF<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0facilitates a new generation of\u00a0<strong>\u201cwhole village\u201d solar electrification projects<\/strong>\u00a0to power water pumping and purification, drip irrigation, health clinics (including vaccine refrigeration), schools, household and community lighting, and income-generating micro-enterprises that can be scaled up through the private sector or through public\/private partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/brightgreen.jpg\" alt=\"brightgreen.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-148\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Back in Copenhagen, I had the pleasure of meeting&nbsp;<strong>Haakon<\/strong>, the&nbsp;<strong>Crown Prince of Norway<\/strong>, on Saturday at the&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.brightgreen.dk\/\"><strong>Bright Green Expo<\/strong><\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Norwegians are taking Copenhagen very seriously, and are also deeply committed to eradicating poverty in developing nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"270\" height=\"277\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/planethope_s.jpg\" alt=\"planethope_s.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-149\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>It\u2019s time.<\/strong>&nbsp; The world has waited long enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI\u2019m lovin\u2019 it\u201d??&nbsp; There is still hope in Copenhagen. And a sense that our time is running out.&nbsp; The sincerity of the world\u2019s young people is on full display, as&nbsp;Bishop Desmond Tutu&nbsp;observed.&nbsp; The question I\u2019m raising is:\u00a0Can our governments and our businesses show the same level of commitment? Earlier, Bishop Tutu had raised the question&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":411,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55\/revisions\/411"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobfreling.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}