World leaders launch global solar campaign.

• Position: Includes related articles on production of solar energy systems and solar energy's role in health infrastructure

The population of this already crowded planet is expected to swell by some 50 per cent over the next 35 years. Already, about 400 million homes do not have electricity, accounting for more than 40 per cent of the world's population. And according to estimates of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, by the end of this century, 2.4 billion people will be either unable to obtain their minimum energy requirements or forced to consume wood faster than it can be replaced. The global fuelwood deficit is expected by then to reach almost 1 billion cubic metres per year.

Against this backdrop, the World Solar Summit ended in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 17 September, with Heads of State and Government representing 18 nations and some 1,000 delegates from over 100 developing and industrialized countries adopting by acclamation the Harare Declaration on Solar Energy and Sustainable Development. They also launched the World Solar Programme 1996-2005.

The Declaration, which calls on nations to join in the development and implementation of the World Solar Programme, considers cheap, clean, renewable energy "essential" in improving the quality of life and in creating income-generating activities. In it, the world leaders recognized "that there is a need to increase substantially access to energy in developing countries, and that the provision of adequate energy services can improve living conditions, alleviate poverty, improve health and education, promote small-scale enterprises and create other income-generating activities especially in rural and isolated areas, thereby reducing rural to urban migration".

The 10-year campaign includes an initial list of 300 top-priority renewable energy projects in more than 60 different countries. The Programme further calls for a global information and communication network to promote training and research. It will highlight successful grassroots initiatives and advocate ecologically sustainable energy use.

The World Solar Summit itself culminated a three-year preparatory process initiated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to help promote research, education, public awareness, marketing and job creation in all fields of renewable energy. These included solar power schools in rural Georgia, a solar water desalination plant for the Gaza Strip to be implemented by the Palestinian Authority, along with energy self-sufficient homes, farms and villages in...