For every MWh of EKOenergy-labelled energy, €0.10 is allocated to EKOenergy’s Climate Fund. This enables us to fund new renewable energy projects in low- and middle-income countries.

We are thrilled to announce that we have just selected this year's 20th Climate Fund project. After carefully evaluating, we have approved a €319,116 grant for a multiannual solar project of the UK-registered charity Practical Action and their Bolivian partners.

The project focuses on improving food security in off-grid farming communities in the Lake Titicaca area of Bolivia. The region, like many other parts of the Andean, faces two interrelated problems: high and persistent levels of poverty and increasing negative environmental impacts due to climate change, especially drought. Half of the population lives in poverty and food insecurity.

Our grant will be used to install solar-powered irrigation systems. The project organisations will also train farmers on nature-based agricultural practices, focused on improving productivity and conserving the local area's natural resources. You'll hear and read more about it in the coming months and years.

Thanks a lot to all users and sellers of EKOenergy-labelled energy for making projects such as this one possible.

For an overview of all financed projects, please take a look at our website's Climate Fund page.

 

- Clean Energy Buyers Institute, Maximizing Community Co-benefits through Clean Energy Procurement, p. 18. Click here for the pdf version of the publication.

In addition to our Climate Fund, EKOenergy also manages the Environmental Fund. For every MWh of EKOenergy-labelled hydropower an additional contribution of €0.10 is allocated to that fund. These contributions are utilised to finance meticulously selected and impactful river restoration projects in the countries where the labelled hydropower has been produced or consumed.

We have just finalised the selection of one new project: We are granting €19,000 to SportFiskarna, The Swedish Anglers Association, for their project Hydromorfological and biological restoration in the Bordsjöbäcken.

The Bordsjöbäcken brook is located in Jönköping County, in southern central Sweden, and is a part of the catchment area of the Motala River. The Swedish Anglers Association has worked in and near the Bordsjöbäcken brook for several years, focusing on restoring habitats and conserving species. Various parts of the river have been restored, but much more work still needs to be done. Among the species that will benefit from the project are freshwater pearl mussel, trout and otter.

We are looking forward to seeing the concrete results!

Good to know: We will open a new call for river restoration projects in Sweden and Germany in December. Check out our next newsletter as well as the news section of our website!

Two of Finland's leading newspapers, Maaseudun Tulevaisuus and Helsingin Sanomat, recently published articles that raised concerns over the price of renewable energy. The authors questioned why consumers would need to pay extra for clean energy, which is cheaper to produce. The articles feature quotes from Steven Vanholme and Johannes Pättiniemi, both working at EKOenergy's Secretariat.

In an ideal world, renewable energy should cost less than fossil fuels. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Fossil fuel users are dumping emissions freely into the atmosphere, and generations to come will carry this damage.

At the same time, in several parts of the world, the demand for renewable energy is increasing faster than the supply. This is leading to increased prices, reflecting energy consumers' increased willingness to pay for clean energy.

It is a matter of great pride for EKOenergy to contribute to a market where consumers are willing to play an active role. The increase in the price of renewable energy is a clear and positive signal from consumers to energy companies and governments alike; energy consumers want an energy transition.

Thanks a lot to all those who choose renewable energy, particularly those who take an extra step by choosing EKOenergy-labelled energy! Together we are making a positive difference.

 

- Rami Rajala. Director, Generation and Assets at Ilmatar Energy, in the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, 15 November 2023

At EKOenergy, we owe our success to the support of consumers worldwide who have chosen our eco-labelled electricity.

In this newsletter, we want to highlight and celebrate two such consumers: Kupilka and SCHOTT

- A big thanks to Kupilka, a Finnish family-owned company that produces amazing cups, plates, and cutlery from natural fibre composite material. They have been using eco-labelled electricity since the liberalisation of the Finnish electricity market in 1998, and EKOenergy-labelled energy since 2013, the year when our label was launched. 25 years of actively choosing the most sustainable electricity contract, that must be a record, not just in Finland, but worldwide. Thank you, Kupilka, for being an inspiration to us all.

- We also congratulate the internationally active glass manufacturer SCHOTT, which has been using EKOenergy-labelled electricity for many years, on winning two German Sustainability Awards: One in the "Glass and Ceramic Industry" category, and another as a transformation leader in the field of climate strategy. This recognition is a testament to its employees' exceptional achievements in recent years. Keep up the good work, SCHOTT!

Ahead of the COP 28 Climate Summit, which is scheduled to take place in Dubai from the 30th of November until the 12th of December, environmental organisations and groups have ramped up their climate campaigns and launched new initiatives.

EKOenergy is supporting various campaigns that advocate for a faster roll-out of renewable energy while also co-signing letters against fossil fuel projects. Here are a few examples of these efforts:

- EKOenergy, along with over 60 other organisations, wrote an open letter to the leaders of Japan and South Korea, calling on both governments to urgently and decisively redirect public financing from fossil fuels towards renewable energy.

- Similarly, we joined 250 groups and organisations in Oil Change International's call on governments to support efforts to end oil and gas export finance. The proposal could end USD 41 billion per year flowing from government-run Export Credit Agencies to fossil fuels, and free it up for clean energy instead!

- EKOenergy also supported the call on banks and investors to stop supporting Mozambique LNG, a carbon bomb operated by TotalEnergies.

More initiatives will be announced in the coming days. Feel free to follow us on social media to stay informed about the many aspects of our work.

 

- The South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh reported on the above-mentioned joint letter and the reasons behind it, 19 November 2023.
 

As previously noted, for every MWh of EKOenergy consumed, €0.10 is allocated to fund renewable energy projects in low- and middle-income countries. All funded projects aim to enhance the living conditions of local communities and contribute to achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We have recently received updates from several previously funded projects:

- Over the past weeks, we received hundreds of photos of an impactful solar project implemented by the Pakistani NGO Health and Rural Development (HARD). Earlier this year, we contributed €34,500 to bring solar power to five off-grid villages in one of the most disadvantaged and inaccessible areas in Pakistan (Khuzdar district, Balochistan). The project partners installed solar systems at 100 houses, five schools, and five health centres. All installed systems include at least one solar panel, a battery, a light and a cooling system.

- We received more exciting updates from Renew’N’Able Malawi (RENAMA). With EKOenergy's financial support, RENAMA has installed solar-powered water pumping systems in 5 rural schools, all located at least 7 km from the national grid. This initiative addresses the critical issue of cholera spread, by providing clean drinking water to thousands of students and neighbouring villages in Thyolo district, Malawi.

- The Cameroonian organisation Centre for Community Regeneration and Development (CCREAD-Cameroon) received €37,500 to install solar mini-grids in four health centres serving communities around the Bakossi National Park. All systems have been installed, and CCREAD will soon conduct a post-installation follow-up.

- The NGO Green Empowerment published an article about a project they are implementing with our financial support. Together with their Ugandan partners, they are building a communally owned, solar-powered honey processing plant. This initiative aims to build a foundation for economic opportunity and sustainability in the face of pressing climate change-related issues.

 

- Green Empowerment, in an article about a project funded by EKOenergy

We recently launched EKOdirect, an online tool designed to effectively manage the increasing volumes of EKOenergy-labelled energy and also facilitate the work of EKOenergy's authorised sellers.

This online tool is built by the Amsterdam-based software developer CerQlar and will be constantly improved and developed.

EKOdirect already contains a database of more than 4400 pre-approved renewable energy installations, i.e. installations that can be used by our authorised sellers when they sell EKOenergy-labelled volumes. In the coming months, more functionalities will be added to the EKOdirect module. We are currently working on automating the generation of the EKOenergy proofs, which serve as evidence to consumers that their volumes have the EKOenergy label.  

In the past two months, almost 30 of our authorised sellers have activated their EKOdirect account. For more information, contact Steven Vanholme.

Recent data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reveals that on the 17th and 18th of November 2023 the average global temperature crossed the 2°C threshold above pre-industrial levels for the first time. Furthermore, the data points to November 2023 becoming the warmest November on record.

While exceeding the 2°C threshold for a number of days may not necessarily imply the violation of Paris Agreement targets, it undeniably highlights that global surface temperatures are steadily increasing, in alignment with the worst-case scenarios predicted by scientists. Evidently, this trend can only be reversed if we take immediate and collective action towards reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.

Upon seeing the graph illustrating this concerning trend (see also the Copernicus website), one may question why this critical information has yet to be widely reported in the mainstream media. Additionally, it raises the question of where our leaders and policymakers stand on taking action to address this existential threat.