Michael Keating and Glada Lahn (Chatham House) give a talk for the Energy for the Displaced panel. This panel discusses ways in which energy for the displaced might be delivered more sustainably, with a greater role for the private sector.

Energy for the Displaced

Humanitarian agencies lack the capacity to deliver sustainable and clean energy to refugees and displaced people. This means that hundreds of millions of dollars in donor and refugee money is spent each year on fuels that are burned in highly inefficient and often health-endangering ways. In the case of firewood - still the overwhelming fuel of choice in camps - women and children are at risk from both journeys outside the camp to collect it and inhalation of the smoke. With the developing world hosting the majority of refugees and displaced - and an increasing number living in urban areas - addressing energy needs also combines with complex national energy security and social integration issues. There is a growing range of safer, cleaner, more carbon-efficient methods available, whose cost savings over years would also help ease the burden on an overstretched humanitarian system. However, innovation in this area is inhibited by the system itself. This presentation will discuss ways in which energy might be delivered more sustainably, with a greater role for the private sector.