Background
The climate crisis has joined conflict and economic inequality as a key driver of hunger. Promoting sustainable energy solutions in humanitarian settings, schools and communities could be the effective approach to improve the capability of climate adaptation. The access to renewable energy is also the critical approach of women empowerment against gender inequality.
Over the past decades, China has been working on transforming its economy to counter the concerns of different environmental hazards caused by the burning fossil fuels and rising oil imports to support the energy sector. The shift toward a low-carbon economy has played a vital role in adopting green energy economics. Technology innovation has been used to develop a renewable energy industry and to increase the efficiency of energy use. When solar energy is the most common renewable energy, the solar energy industry is developing rapidly in China, which plays an important role in achieving a low-carbon economy.
In agricultural sector, solar energy has been utilized to supply energy requirements of various operations from traditional applications such as open sun drying and crop cultivation in greenhouses to modern agricultural practices using solar-powered farm robots and machinery. After several years of research and development in relative technologies, solar energy has been proved to be the compatible energy source for use in agricultural and food production systems. Solar energy can be utilized in agriculture in several ways, saving energy and cost, increasing sustainability, and reducing environmental pollution.
The field demands of solar energy application are reflected by WFP pilots and initiatives in developing countries. The exploration or expectation on solar energy application for environmentally friendly agriculture production, food processing and preservation in Armenia, India, Tanzania, and Timor-Leste presents the local needs of this renewable energy, when South-South and Triangular Cooperation provides the opportunity to share and exchange various practices and experience among different countries, which could encourage more adaptable and suitable innovative solutions to be applied contributing to the climate adaptation.
Rational
WFP strives to ensure that the food it provides through its food assistance programs can be produced, processed and prepared with clean cooking solutions, avoiding negative socioeconomic and environmental impacts. Sustainable energy solutions in humanitarian settings, schools and communities are promoted by WFP to strengthen smallholder's climate change resilience. Effective and innovative solar energy applications for climate adaptation in different countries could be the valuable source exchanged through South-South and Triangular Cooperation. Climate change resilience is one of prioritized areas of WFP Centre of Excellence for Rural Transformation (WFP China COE) aiming to help enhance smallholders' capacity by adopting new energy, ecological approaches, and environmentally friendly technologies for their livelihood improvement. WFP China COE is dedicated to leverage China's experience and technology to benefit other developing countries in terms of climate change adaptation at institutional level.
The National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC), a director-level public institution directly under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment undertaken South-South Cooperation project on climate change since 2014. A communication platform for national strategic research institution and international cooperation for addressing climate change in China. NCSC's responsibilities include organizing and carrying out research on climate change policies, regulations, strategies and plans; responsible for technical support in domestic implementation, statistical accounting and assessment, carbon emission trading management, international negotiation, international cooperation and communication, etc. Conducting dialogue, publicity, capacity building and advisory services for think tanks on climate change. NCSC is committed to explore international environmental policy research, construct national emission reduction strategy and policy research, a platform engaged in international environmental policy and sustainable development index system, conduct emission reduction policy research work.
Objectives
This webinar aims to share and exchange experience on solar energy applications in agriculture focusing on technical elaborations to improve the climate change resilience. It also contributes to the gender equality and food security, through
? Sharing solar energy technologies and solutions for grain storage and food processing
? Introducing the case of the photovoltaic agriculture in a systematic manner
? Providing the platform to discuss and exchange adaptable technical solutions of the solar energy application in developing countries.
Event Arrangement
The webinar will be scheduled from 18:30 to 20:00 Beijing Time (UTC/GMT+08:00) on 24 October (Tuesday) 2023. Chinese/English/French simultaneous interpretation will be provided. Pre-survey and post-survey will be circulated.
The webinar will feed the WFP-China South-South Cooperation Platform and Cloud School. Video courses in English and French and technical solutions on solar energy applications are developed upon the webinar materials.
Audience
Targeted audience will be technical officers in agriculture departments, relevant technicians, and smallholders in developing countries. Participants attended the webinar pre-survey will be invited. All WFP Regional Bureaux, Centres of Excellence, relevant Divisions in Headquarters, concerned Country Offices, including Armenia, Chad, India, Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania, Timor-Leste Country Offices, will be invited for better leverage.
Organization
The webinar will be co-organized by WFP China COE and National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation.
Tentative Agenda
Related Courses in Cloud School
English Version
French Version
