|
With the announcement of the 2007 winners, the Ashden Awards for Sustainable energy show yet again how simple technologies can transform lives in the developing world while also tackling climate change.
Presenting the Awards on Thursday night, former US Vice-President Al Gore described the winners as “illuminating a path to a sustainable future together.” “No one can attend an event like the Ashden Awards” he said “and fail to be inspired.”
The winner of the Light and Power award this year, sponsored by Climate Care, is certainly inspiring. Sunlabob Rural Energy Ltd makes lighting affordable for the people of Laos. Its portable lamps are charged by solar power and rented out by the hour. This means that families can switch from expensive, fossil fuel kerosene lighting to safe, solar-powered lamps to light their homes at night.
Sunlabob, like other first prize winners, will receive £30,000 to use in continuing its work. Andy Schoeder, Director of Sunlabob (seen above collecting his award from Al Gore) said: “Thank you to the Ashden Awards and Climate Care for this prize which will help us to continue providing commercially viable and affordable energy services for rural areas.”
The challenge for the world is how to grow sustainable energy at the scale and pace needed. As Sarah Butler Sloss, Executive Chair of the Ashden Awards and chair of the judging panel, stated “If these technologies were expanded and replicated on a large scale, they would play a significant role in helping us to tackle climate change and poverty.”
Climate Care is proud of our partnership with the Ashden Awards, begun in 2003. We believe that the carbon market has a huge role to play in supporting type of projects that the awards exist to promote.
Climate Care’s founder, Mike Mason, who is on the judging panel for the awards, said: “We must make sure that the carbon market succeeds in funding these crucial sustainable energy solutions. Otherwise we loose a huge opportunity to tackle both climate change and poverty. And the voluntary carbon offset market has a crucial role to play.”
