
‘Coal doesn’t benefit the poor’: Dan Kammen on energy access and poverty

Simon Evans
11.04.16
Simon Evans
04.11.2016 | 5:16pmThe role of coal in poverty reduction is contentious. The Overseas Development Institute’s recent Beyond Coal report argues that better options are available, namely, that coal has been given too much credit for past progress and that more coal will entrench poverty, not relieve it.
Carbon Brief spoke to Daniel Kammen, one of the contributors to the report, about the findings. Kammen is professor of energy at the University of California, Berkeley, and science envoy for the US State Department.
Kammen explained how the report came about and the clear message it discovered:
Kammen pushed back against those that argue coal is the solution to extreme poverty in Africa:
Kammen also explained why fossil fuel plants must respond to the Paris Agreement on climate change:
You can watch the full interview, below.
Daniel Kammen is professor of energy at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also founding director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, co-director of the Berkeley Institute of the Environment, director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center, and serves on the Advisory Committee for Energy & Environment for the X-Prize Foundation. In February 2016 he was appointed as science envoy for the US State Department.
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