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1. Paving the Way for Investment in Geothermal Power Deployment in Developing Countries

Author:
Thomas Adisorn
Publication Date:
05-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
Geothermal power represents a unique source of electricity, for instance due to its low-carbon and base-load character. Some developing countries have a great potential for deploying geothermal power and, thus, for providing climate-friendly electricity to their economies and people. However, in order to reap the benefits of geothermal power substantial barriers must be overcome. By having screened the relevant literature, important hurdles to geothermal power deployment were defined: financing barriers, institutional barriers and uncertainty, lack of human resources, information barriers and social opposition. Through desk research carried out for Indonesia and Kenya, both of which are frontrunners in terms of installed geothermal power capacity, this study identifies options that contribute to overcoming aforementioned barriers. Hence, it offers recommendations primarily to developing countries in order to realize geothermal power production and, thus, to contribute to climate change mitigation.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Energy Policy, and Renewable Energy
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, Indonesia, and Asia-Pacific

2. Human Rights Due Diligence through Stakeholder Engagement?

Author:
Brigitte Hamm and Anne Schax
Publication Date:
01-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
The report examines to what extent stakeholder engagement as a form of private governance can contribute to a corporation’s human rights due diligence performance. It takes as the basis for investigation a case study of a stakeholder engagement program implemented by the oper- ating company SMI for a planned copper-gold mine in the Philippines during the project’s pre- operational phase. The analysis examines criteria for good stakeholder engagement set out by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and uses the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as the conceptual framework. For the case investigated here, it is established that SMI’s stakeholder engagement program as well as the IFC’s guidelines evince several shortcomings from a human rights perspective, which in turn negatively affect other due dili- gence processes.
Topic:
Human Rights, United Nations, Governance, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Philippines, Asia-Pacific, and Global Focus

3. A (Mis)alignment of Governance Structure

Author:
Marie-Luise Mubenbrock
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
Improving the quality of water services is vital in many developing countries. In order to ad- dress the issue, many of them launched a series of reforms of which a major element was the involvement of the private sector. However, private sector participation (PSP) did not prove to be a general panacea. In some cases it has led to improved water service quality, such as in- creased access and reduced water losses. In other cases it has resulted in deteriorated perfor- mance, including high tariffs and potentially negative impacts on health and the environment. The question is under which circumstances PSP can positively or negatively impact on the pro- vision of water services. This INEF Report analyses the varying performance of the two water concessions in Metro Manila through the lens of the theory of Transaction Cost Economics (TCE). It shows that a misalignment of governance structures (organisational constructs) ac- cording to the level of transaction costs leads to worse water service provision.
Topic:
Environment, Water, Governance, Political structure, Social Services, and Public Service
Political Geography:
Philippines and Asia-Pacific