Assessing the Co-Benefits of Household Energy Technology Carbon Offset Projects

There has been an increase of carbon finance in recent years to offset projects in developing countries that claim to produce significant local development benefits, also called co-benefits. Household energy technology projects are an example of carbon offset projects that are claimed to both mitigate climate change and create development co-benefits. This report uses case studies from household energy technology projects in Cambodia and Lao PDR to examine how the co-benefits of household energy technology carbon offset projects are assessed and what possible gaps there are in current academic assessment approaches. The research for this book has been carried out under the ‘Scaling up low carbon household technologies in the lower Mekong Subregion’. The project commenced in 2012 and has been funded by the Nordic Climate Facility (NCF), which is financed by the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) and administrated by Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO)

Climate Mitigation in the Least Carbon Emitting Countries : Dilemmas of Co-benefits in Cambodia and Laos

Development has entered a time where it cannot be thought of without reference to climate change. While historically development in the industrialized countries has to a great extent been driven by a fossil fuel based economy, this option is no longer seen as viable for developing countries, which are expected to pursue different pathways of development. At the same time, the impacts of a changing climate affect the poorest countries and populations disproportionately, and multilateral policy declarations signed by most countries underline that there must be an effort to prevent and mitigate this. The effects of climate change onto development policies and practice is also reflected in donor countries’ change in perception. Donor countries have begun increasingly integrating climate change objectives into development cooperation programmes and official development assistance (ODA). While significant in terms of discontinuing support to fossil fuels and attempting to increase resilience, this trend also brings into the fore new dilemmas. The main dilemma which emerges – and is explored further in this book – is when development cooperation finance is used in the least developed countries for projects and policies which are principally oriented towards climate change mitigation.This e-book has been carried out under the COOL-project (Adequacy of Climate Change Mitigation Initiatives in Laos and Cambodia: Comparing Options and Analysing Obstacles in Local Context), a commissioned research funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland

Climate Mitigation in the Least Carbon Emitting Countries – Dilemmas of Co-benefits in Cambodian and Laos

Development has entered a time where it cannot be thought of without reference to climate change. While historically development in the industrialized countries has to a great extent been driven by a fossil fuel based economy, this option is no longer seen as viable for developing countries, which are expected to pursue different pathways of development. At the same time, the impacts of a changing climate affect the poorest countries and populations disproportionately, and multilateral policy declarations signed by most countries underline that there must be an effort to prevent and mitigate this. The effects of climate change onto development policies and practice is also reflected in donor countries&rsquo; change in perception. Donor countries have begun increasingly integrating climate change objectives into development cooperation programmes and official development assistance (ODA). While significant in terms of discontinuing support to fossil fuels and attempting to increase resilience, this trend also brings into the fore new dilemmas. The main dilemma which emerges &ndash; and is explored further in this book &ndash; is when development cooperation finance is used in the least developed countries for projects and policies which are principally oriented towards climate change mitigation.</span

Energy, Environment and Livelihoods in the Lao PDR : Results from a 2011 Household Survey

This report presents the main results of a household survey collected in 2011. The data was originally collected for FFRC project Interlinkages between energy and livelihoods - Data, training and Scenarios for sustainable energy planning in Laos (INES), funded by the Energy and Environment Partnership (EEP) with the Mekong Region, financed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Nordic Development Fund. The demographic profile of the households was surveyed first. The actual questions were related to the following topics: (1) household assets, (2) livelihood activities, (3) income and liabilities, (4) food security and (5) survival strategies, (6) energy use; and (7) environment. This publication is also organized according to these research themes. While the section exploring residential energy use was fairly extensive and utilized throughout the project, the other themes received less attention. The main reason for compiling this e-book was to disseminate all the key results from the survey, especially those with little publicity so far. Similar, recent household level data from Laos is not currently available from any other sources, as far as we know. Thus, this e-Book report provides unique results on the Laotian society and economy based on the household survey findings

Future Energy Demand in Laos : Scenario Alternatives for Development

Energy production in Laos is still dominated by traditional fuels. Fuelwood in the main source of energy and most of the energy is consumed at households for cooking. Increase in the number of cars and motorbikes is rapidly increasing the use of imported petroleum products. Electrification is one of the central targets of the Lao government. The electrification rate has increased fast in Laos and in the year 2010 over 70 % households had electricity supply. The target is to have 90 % access to electricity by the year 2020. The World Bank regards the electrification of Lao PDR to be a success story (World Bank 2012). This paper deals with the present and future energy consumption in Laos. First the historical trends of energy use in different sectors are analysed. The future scenarios are constructed using LaoLinda model. Four different future alternative development paths are analysed using the model results. The energy use data source for the analysis is from the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) of Lao PDR. Economic and other data is from the Department of Statistics of Lao PDR

Small Form Factor Flyback Converter

Tämän insinöörityön tavoitteena oli suunnitella pienikokoinen tasavirtamuunnin teholähteeksi sarjalinkkimuuntajalaitteelle kiskokalustokäyttöön. Teholähde suunniteltiin käyttämään 24 V nimellistä syöttöjännitettä ja tuottamaan 1.2 W tehoa 5 V nimellisellä lähtöjännitteellä. Eristettyjä tasavirtamuuntajatyyppejä vertailtiin ja vertailun perusteella teholähteen topologiaksi valittiin Flyback-muunnin. Flyback-muuntimen periaatetta ja toimintaa tutkittiin ja simuloitiin. Prototyyppi teholähteelle suunniteltiin perustuen tutkittuun muuntajan toimintaan ja tehtyihin simulaatioihin. Prototyypille suoritettiin alustavia testejä. Teholähteen kuormantasaus (eng. load regulation) ja hyötysuhde (eng. efficiency) mitattiin eri käyttöjännitteillä. Lähtöjännitteen hurina (eng. ripple) mitattiin nimellisellä käyttöjännitteellä ja käyttäen sarjalinkkimuuntajaa vastaavaa kuormaa. Alustavan testauksen perusteella teholähde on kykenevä tuottamaan toivotun lähtötehon ja -jännitteen 12 – 36 V tulojännitteillä. Nimellisellä käyttöjännitteellä mitattu hurina pysyy hyväksyttävissä arvoissa. Lisää testejä on suoritettava teholähteelle liitettynä sarjalinkkimuuntajaan. Laitteen toiminta sille asetetulla toimintalämpötila-alueella on varmistettava, laitteen lähettämä elektromagneettinen häiriö on mitattava, ja sen alttius ulkoisille elektromagneettisille häiriöille on testattava.The goal of this thesis work was to design a small form factor isolated DC/DC power supply to be used in a railway application. The power supply was designed to use 24 V nominal supply voltage and provide a rated 1.2 W output power to a serial link converter device at a nominal output voltage of 5 V. Isolated DC/DC converter topologies were compared and the Flyback topology was chosen based on this comparison. The operation of the Flyback topology was investigated and simulated. Based on the operation theory and simulations, as well as requirements set for the power supply, a prototype was designed. Preliminary testing was conducted on the prototype. The efficiency and load regulation of the power supply were measured at different supply voltages, and the output voltage ripple and switching waveforms were measured at the nominal supply voltage, using a load representative of the serial link converter. Based on the preliminary testing conducted on the prototype, the designed power supply module could supply the required output power at supply voltages ranging from 12 V to 26 V, with acceptable output voltage ripple. Additional testing is needed to validate the power supply’s EMI characteristics as well as operation in different ambient temperatures. Keywords DC/DC, Flyback, Converter, Isolat

Two birds with one stone? Exploring the role of climate change mitigation in development cooperation: The case of Energy and Environment Partnership with the Mekong Region.

This Master's thesis explores the role of climate change mitigation in a development cooperation program. The case chosen for exploring this issue was a Finnish development cooperation program, the Energy and Environment Partnership (EEP) with the Mekong Region. EEP Mekong presented a good case for investigating the recent trend in which climate change is increasingly being mainstreamed into development cooperation. The industrialized countries have committed to provide 0.7% of their gross national income for development cooperation. More recently the industrialized countries have pledged to support developing countries in climate change related activities. Concerns have been raised that the new pledges for climate finance are diverting funds from development cooperation. This study can be seen to represent a case of a donor initiated development cooperation program, funded with official development aid, in which climate change has significantly influenced the design of the program. This issue was approached from a constructivist point of view. The research was carried out looking at norm diffusion and how norms influence the program, and the research question was: how does the norm of climate change mitigation diffuse and inform behavior in the EEP Mekong? The empirical focus in this study was on the norm of climate change mitigation, how actors understand it and how it informs behavior within the program. This issue was discussed in the context of development cooperation, and in order to understand the issue better, this paper also analyzed the norms of poverty reduction and ownership in the EEP. A mission to the Mekong region took place in the beginning of 2011. Eight interviews conducted during the mission form the main data used in this study. In addition, interviews were conducted with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Nordic Development Fund. Documents of the program were used to complement the material collected with the interviews. The main findings of this study point out that the EEP Mekong is, indeed, strongly geared towards climate change mitigation and outcomes for poverty reduction can be questioned. Mitigating climate change turned out to be taken-for-granted in the program. The norm of climate change mitigation can be said to be diffused to the EEP and inform the program. However, it seemed that it was the idea of mitigating climate change that was the key concern, not achieving significant emission reduction. As such, the content of the norm of climate change mitigation had changed from what it was originally taken to prescribe. Although diffused, norms do not always have their intended effect. The norm of ownership did not seem to be subscribed to on many levels in the program. There were indications that this was due to the fact, that the content of the norm was understood differently by different actors.  Asiasanat:climate change mitigation, development cooperation, norm diffusio

Two birds with one stone? Exploring the role of climate change mitigation in development cooperation: The case of Energy and Environment Partnership with the Mekong Region.

This Master's thesis explores the role of climate change mitigation in a development cooperation program. The case chosen for exploring this issue was a Finnish development cooperation program, the Energy and Environment Partnership (EEP) with the Mekong Region. EEP Mekong presented a good case for investigating the recent trend in which climate change is increasingly being mainstreamed into development cooperation. The industrialized countries have committed to provide 0.7% of their gross national income for development cooperation. More recently the industrialized countries have pledged to support developing countries in climate change related activities. Concerns have been raised that the new pledges for climate finance are diverting funds from development cooperation. This study can be seen to represent a case of a donor initiated development cooperation program, funded with official development aid, in which climate change has significantly influenced the design of the program. This issue was approached from a constructivist point of view. The research was carried out looking at norm diffusion and how norms influence the program, and the research question was: how does the norm of climate change mitigation diffuse and inform behavior in the EEP Mekong? The empirical focus in this study was on the norm of climate change mitigation, how actors understand it and how it informs behavior within the program. This issue was discussed in the context of development cooperation, and in order to understand the issue better, this paper also analyzed the norms of poverty reduction and ownership in the EEP. A mission to the Mekong region took place in the beginning of 2011. Eight interviews conducted during the mission form the main data used in this study. In addition, interviews were conducted with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Nordic Development Fund. Documents of the program were used to complement the material collected with the interviews. The main findings of this study point out that the EEP Mekong is, indeed, strongly geared towards climate change mitigation and outcomes for poverty reduction can be questioned. Mitigating climate change turned out to be taken-for-granted in the program. The norm of climate change mitigation can be said to be diffused to the EEP and inform the program. However, it seemed that it was the idea of mitigating climate change that was the key concern, not achieving significant emission reduction. As such, the content of the norm of climate change mitigation had changed from what it was originally taken to prescribe. Although diffused, norms do not always have their intended effect. The norm of ownership did not seem to be subscribed to on many levels in the program. There were indications that this was due to the fact, that the content of the norm was understood differently by different actors.  Asiasanat:climate change mitigation, development cooperation, norm diffusio