The Center for Energy and Environmental Security (CEES)

The Center for Energy and Environmental Security (CEES) at the University of Colorado is working to develop practical strategies and solutions for moving international society toward a global sustainable energy future. CEES endeavors to advance energy justice as the rationale for offering sustainable energy solutions for the energy deficits confronting the developing and least developed countries (LDCs) of the world.

The Colorado Energy Profile (CEP)

The Colorado Energy Profile (CEP) provides a comprehensive assessment of sustainable energy resources in Colorado. All data is current through July of 2009. Sponsored by the Governor’s Energy Office and developed by the Center for Energy and Environmental Security, CEP delivers quality data and objective analysis regarding the current and future role of energy in Colorado.

International Sustainable Energy Assessment (ISEA)

The International Sustainable Energy Assessment (ISEA) contains in-force energy treaties from all 192 countries in the world dealing with some 45 energy-related subject areas current to 2005. It arose out of the recognition that the challenges in moving to a more sustainable global energy regime cannot be solved by any one nation and must entail international engagement and cooperation. International agreements have the ability to profoundly impact renewable energy and energy efficiency activities. These instruments play a critical role by supporting markets, facilitating technology transfer and capacity building, and reducing financial barriers.

Climate Action Database (PCAP)

The Presidential Climate Action Policy Database (PCAD), a policy database in support of the Presidential Climate Action Project (PCAP) compiled by the Center for Energy and Environmental Security (CEES).

Women’s Energy Justice Network (WEJN)

WEJN seeks to increase the use of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), voluntary carbon markets, and other project finance mechanisms to support small-scale appropriate and sustainable energy projects at the household and rural community level, with the goal of laying the foundation for a new development path for the Energy Oppressed Poor (EOP).

Lack of access to clean and efficient energy acts as a poverty trap for billions of people worldwide—a tragedy that is particularly true for women and children in developing countries. Indoor air pollution from the inefficient burning of biomass causes millions of deaths and dramatically increases the morbidity rate for such illnesses as pneumonia, obstructive pulmonary diseases, lung cancer, and chronic respiratory ailments. Household and community-based energy efficiency and renewable energy projects have immense potential to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, while also helping to fulfill the sustainable development mandate of the CDM, lower energy expenditures, decrease health impacts, and create jobs.

Despite these many benefits, the CDM has not yet tapped the vast potential presented by these projects due to various financial, procedural, and social barriers. This project will result in strategies and concrete project concepts for leveraging traditional CDM processes (including the bundling of small-scale projects), new CDM processes (namely programmatic CDM or pCDM), and complementary financing mechanisms and policy approaches to effectively deploy efficient cookstoves and other appropriate and sustainable energy technologies on a substantially larger scale than seen to date.

WEJN Key Activities

  1. Creation of a online database tracking Appropriate Sustainable Energy Technologies (ASETs) projects and financing mechanisms (Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), voluntary carbon markets, microlending, and other).
  2. Establishment of working group to provide updated analysis and strategy for how CDM (traditional and programmatic) can better be utilized to support ASET projects in India, in conjunction with complementary financing mechanisms including microlending.
  3. Development of household ASET retrofit and financing Project Concept for pilot community using bundled small-scale CDM and complementary funding mechanisms.
  4. Development of pCDM Project Concept (with supplemental microlending mechanism) for selected ASET.
  5. Development of reports and training materials for ASET pCDM, CDM bundling, and complementary microfinance or other financing mechanisms.
  6. Convening of pCDM, bundled small-scale CDM, and microlending workshop for key Ministries of the Government of India, state-level stakeholders, financial institutions, major NGOs, and other potential project developers in India.

WEJN Documents

Preliminary Report | July 2010
This document describes the state of widely available data on appropriate and sustainable energy technology dissemination efforts in India.

Understanding Carbon Financing and Sustainable Energy Technologies | June 2010
These training materials explain carbon markets and carbon financing for appropriate technologies from the ground up, and are written with the carbon market novice in mind.

Small-Scale CDM Project Concept Document | July 2010
This concept document describes a possible carbon-financed project involving community-scale biomass pyrolysis plants in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

CDM Programme of Activities Concept | July 2010
This concept document describes a possible programme of activities to disseminate pyrolytic, biochar producing cook-stoves to the rural poor in Western Rajasthan. Carbon-financing opportunities are discussed.

Proceedings from Workshop 1 | July 2010
This document describes the proceedings of an invitation-only workshop on financing for small-scale appropriate technologies for India.

Proceedings from Workshop 2 | July 2010
This document describes the proceedings of an open evening workshop on small scale appropriate technologies for India.

Final Technical Report: CDM Financing and Microlending for Appropriate Technology | August 2010
This final technical report provides information on the Women’s Energy Justice Network (WEJN) India Database, which was developed by the Center for Energy and Environmental Security (CEES) at the University of Colorado at Boulder.