Biomass Residues as Energy Source to Improve Energy Access and Local Economic Activity in Low HDI Regions of Brazil and Colombia (BREA)

Abstract

Access to cleaner and affordable energy options is essential for improving the livelihoods of the poor in developing countries. The link between energy and poverty is demonstrated by the fact that the poor in developing countries constitute the bulk of an estimated 2.7 billion people relying on traditional biomass for cooking and the overwhelming majority of the 1.3 billion without access to grid electricity (IEA, 2015a). The Brazilian Amazon region and the Colombian isolated areas – despite their national electrification rate of 99.5% and 97.1% respectively – account to about 2.4 million of people without electricity access. When it comes to cooking this number grows eightfold, almost 20 million people within these two countries rely on the traditional use of biomass for cooking. In fact, 6% of Brazilians and 15% of Colombians cook using firewood (IEA, 2015b).