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CoM SSA Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP) course

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  1. MODULE 1: Setting the scene
  2. Lesson 1.1: Introduction to the CoM SSA initiative
    2 Topics
  3. Lesson 1.2: Introduction to the SEACAP
    3 Topics
  4. Lesson 1.3: Climate change and cities in Africa
    2 Topics
  5. MODULE 2: SEACAP mitigation pillar
  6. Lesson 2.1: Key concepts in climate change mitigation
    1 Topic
  7. Lesson 2.2: Introduction to the mitigation pillar
    2 Topics
  8. Lesson 2.3: The SEACAP development process for the mitigation pillar
    1 Topic
  9. Lesson 2.4: Emissions inventories: GHG emissions
    4 Topics
  10. Lesson 2.5: Developing a Baseline Emissions Inventory (BEI)
    3 Topics
  11. Lesson 2.6: Tools for BEI development
    2 Topics
  12. Lesson 2.7: Setting mitigation targets
    2 Topics
  13. Lesson 2.8: Planning mitigation actions
    1 Topic
  14. MODULE 3: SEACAP access to energy pillar
  15. Lesson 3.1: Key concepts in access to energy
  16. Lesson 3.2: Introduction to the access to energy pillar
    2 Topics
  17. Lesson 3.3: The SEACAP development process for the access to energy pillar
    1 Topic
  18. Lesson 3.4: Data collection
    3 Topics
  19. Lesson 3.5: Developing an Access to Energy Assessment (AEA)
    2 Topics
  20. Lesson 3.6: Setting an energy vision and targets
    3 Topics
  21. Module 3.7: Planning energy actions
    3 Topics
  22. MODULE 4: SEACAP adaptation pillar
  23. Lesson 4.1: Key Concepts in climate change adaptation
  24. Lesson 4.2: Introduction to the adaptation pillar
    2 Topics
  25. Lesson 4.3: The SEACAP development process for the adaptation pillar
    1 Topic
  26. Lesson 4.4: Developing a Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA)
  27. Lesson 4.5: Setting an adaptation vision and sectoral targets
    2 Topics
  28. Lesson 4.6: Planning adaptation actions
    2 Topics
  29. MODULE 5: Steps to take before you implement your SEACAP
  30. Lesson 5.1: Next steps for prioritised actions
  31. Lesson 5.2: Categorising actions to access external finance
    2 Topics
  32. MODULE 6: Communicating your SEACAP
  33. Lesson 6.1: Designing your SEACAP
    3 Topics
  34. Lesson 6.2: Communicating your SEACAP to key stakeholders
    1 Topic
  35. MODULE 7: Reporting your SEACAP
  36. Lesson 7.1: Introduction to reporting your SEACAP
    3 Topics
  37. Lesson 7.2: Introduction to reporting the mitigation pillar
    4 Topics
  38. Lesson 7.3: Introduction to reporting the adaptation pillar
    3 Topics
  39. Lesson 7.4: Introduction to reporting the access to energy pillar
    3 Topics
  40. MODULE 8: Integrating your SEACAP into existing planning processes
  41. Lesson 8.1: Integrating your SEACAP actions into local level plans
    1 Topic

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CoM SSA Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP) course Lesson 3.1: Key concepts in access to energy
Lesson 15 of 41
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Lesson 3.1: Key concepts in access to energy

16 September 2024

Access to energy

Access to energy is the availability of sustainable, clean, reliable and modern energy services to meet basic human needs at affordable costs. Although the definition of basic human needs may vary from one city to another, the attributes common to all cities are security, affordability, reliability and sustainability of energy supply.

Energy poverty

Energy poverty is the lack of access to affordable, safe and sustainable energy and ‘’a direct expression of deprivation in a city’s every-day life with both context and impact experienced by individuals, households, and communities’’ (GCoM Urban Energy Access Toolkit for Local Governments). Sub-Saharan Africa, despite being critical in energy value chains outside the continent, has high levels of energy poverty, made worse by the economic impacts of COVID-19.

Access to electricity

Access to electricity refers to the percentage of people in a given area that have relatively simple, stable access to electricity (IEA). The electricity access can be on the grid, meaning that the electricity is supplied through a centralised network connecting the consumers (homes, businesses, or industries) to sources of electricity generation (power plants, wind farms etc.), or off-grid, meaning that the generation and use of electricity is independent from a centralised power grid. In off-grid access, the electricity is produced locally, typically using small-scale renewable energy sources or other generation methods, and consumed directly at the point of generation without relying on the infrastructure of a large utility network.

Access to clean cooking

Access to clean cooking means the access and primary use of modern fuels and technologies, including natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), electricity and biogas, or improved biomass cookstoves, as opposed to the basic biomass cookstoves and three-stone fires (JRC Guidebook).

Energy efficiency

Energy efficiency is the useful energy or energy services obtained from a system, conversion process, transmission or storage activity to the input of energy (measured as kWh kWh-1, tonnes kWh-1 or any other physical measure of useful output like tonne-km transported). Most commonly, energy efficiency is measured as input energy over a physical or economic unit. For buildings, it is often measured as kWh/m2, and for vehicles as km/litre-1 or litre/km. Very often in policy, ‘energy efficiency’ is intended to mean the measures to reduce energy demand through technological options such as insulating buildings, using more efficient appliances, efficient lighting, efficient vehicles, etc.

Energy security

Energy security is the goal of a given country, or the global community as a whole, to maintain an adequate, stable and predictable energy supply. Measures encompass: Safeguarding the sufficiency of energy resources to meet national energy demand at competitive and stable prices and the resilience of the energy supply Enabling development and deployment of technologies Building sufficient infrastructure to generate, store and transmit energy supplies Ensuring enforceable contracts of delivery

Clean energy

Clean energy refers to an energy source or technology that produces minimal or no emissions and pollutants when generating energy. While renewable energy sources are often considered clean, not all clean energy sources are necessarily renewable.

Renewable energy

Renewable energy is energy derived from natural sources that are replenished at a higher rate than they are consumed. It includes ‘’all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner, including: bioenergy; geothermal energy; hydropower; ocean energy, including inter alia tidal, wave and ocean thermal energy; solar energy; and wind energy’’ (Statute of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), 2009). Biofuels and hydrogen derived from renewable resources can also be considered as renewable energy.

Sustainable energy

Sustainable energy is energy generated from renewable and non-pollutive resources. It refers not only to energy sources, but also technologies and practices that meet present energy needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It includes practices such as energy efficiency and conservation, and aims at balancing environmental, social, and economic concerns to ensure access and resilience over the long term.

Energy affordability

Energy affordability means that an individual should be capable of accessing and covering the energy expenses for the household — for cooling, lighting, heating, and powering appliances - while also paying for other basic living expenses, without undue financial burden.

Measuring access to energy

The World Bank’s Multi-Tier Framework goes beyond a binary definition of ‘access vs no access’ to present a means of measuring energy access that considers seven attributes for electricity access and six attributes for clean cooking access. Each household’s situation is represented across Tiers 1 to 5.

CoM SSA is co-funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ)

Disclaimer

This website was created and maintained with the financial support of the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ). Its contents are the sole responsibility of Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the other co-funders.