Rural regions in particular suffer greatly from consequences of climate change. The population mostly uses coal or firewood for cooking. Especially women and children are affected by the strong smoke development during cooking. The use of coal and firewood leads to considerable health problems, especially for the eyes and respiratory tract. Furthermore, felling trees for fuel is one of the reasons for the increasing decline of forests. Biogas replaces the usual coal or firewood for cooking and reduces carbon dioxide emissions. It is a smokeless, affordable and decentralised energy source, especially for poorer households in rural areas.

Small biogas plants are used, which convert cow dung, other agricultural waste and faeces through anaerobic digestion into biogas that can be used for cooking. Instead of the widespread disposal of animal faeces in open manure pits, these biogas plants treat the excrements anaerobically in closed tanks and provide the farmers with methane produced as a clean biogas for cooking. The extremely smoke-intensive and health-damaging burning of coal and firewood in outdated stoves, which has been common practice up to now, becomes superfluous. Small farmers’ households are equipped with climate-friendly biogas fermenters and practical biogas cooking stations. The project reduces greenhouse gas emissions from two major emission sources in rural areas by using methane emissions from livestock farming and replacing coal and firewood with biogas. It also reduces pollution by smoke, improves sanitary conditions and encourages the production of organic fertilisers.

The use of charcoal and wood for cooking and heating is widespread and often the only source of energy. However, this leads to a high deforestation rate. Burning in traditional stoves is inefficient. They do not fully convert large quantities of wood and charcoal into heat energy. This is associated with further problems: As the wood burns, ashes and the harmful gas carbon monoxide are produced. They lead to respiratory, heart, circulatory and eye diseases such as pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. Air pollution in living spaces is a serious threat because many houses do not have adequate ventilation. Furthermore, the physically demanding and time-consuming collection of firewood is typically carried out by women.

The new stoves burn the wood more cleanly, so that women and children are no longer exposed to the constant smoke and soot. In addition to the improved health situation, normal cooking habits are maintained as the stoves workday and night. Households also save a considerable amount of money, as the efficient stoves make them independent of rising charcoal and wood prices and increased transport and production costs. The savings enable households to cover other financial expenses.

The project activities promote the sale and installation of energy-efficient cooking stoves because of the effective transfer of heat and the efficient burning of wood compared to traditional fireplaces. In addition, they reduce the demand for wood or charcoal, thus lowering the pressure on forest resources. Thus, the projects counteract problems such as soil erosion, destruction of natural habitats and loss of biodiversity.

Renewable energy includes wind and solar energy, biomass, geothermal energy and hydropower. They can make a significant contribution to climate protection. They also contribute to security of supply and to avoiding conflicts over raw materials. The basic principle of renewable energy is that on the one hand, processes occurring in nature are used. On the other hand, electricity, heat and fuels are also generated from renewable raw materials. The use of renewable energy depends on simplified integration and its environmentally compatible pattern. In future, the growing energy demand should no longer be covered by coal for example. In some rural regions, decentralised generation plants using renewable fuels are still not widespread although the environmental conditions are very favourable for the use of wind or solar power for example. High capital requirements and unfavourable financing conditions therefore make it difficult for private operators in these regions to invest in the relevant technology and thus help renewable energy to achieve a breakthrough.

Climate protection projects in the field of renewable energy usually rely on the use of wind and solar power and support the operators of decentralised energy generation plants. The construction and operation of plants create new jobs for the local population. The projects improve the regional and national energy supply and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The projects also substitute electricity from conventional power plants and avoid emissions of nitrogen, soot and sulphur dioxide. They also help to achieve a breakthrough in technologies for generating energy from renewable sources and make an important contribution to energy transition in rural areas.

Hydroelectric power as a renewable energy source is still important worldwide. It contributes considerably to the reduction of CO₂ emissions and thus to climate protection. At the same time, it reduces the need for conventional primary energy sources, serves to improve supply security and reduces dependence on fossil and nuclear fuels.

In run-of-river power plants, no water is stored during normal operation and the water is passed through turbines. The water is then returned to the river so that the inflow to the power plant and the outflow from the power plant are the same. In run-of-river power plants, electricity is usually generated continuously, even if water flow fluctuates. Therefore, these plants are mostly used to cover the base load. Capacity can be reduced by high or low water, nevertheless, the turbines are usually well utilised so that electricity can be generated cost-effectively due to low operating costs.

The energy generated is fed into the national power grid. Even in the dry season, water flow is guaranteed in order to keep the impact on water use for the surrounding villages as small as possible. No people have been resettled and no village has been directly negatively affected by the projects.

A large part of the rural population derives their living from agriculture and livestock breeding. Smallholder families produce hardly more than they need in order to survive. In these projects, small farmers can supply a power plant with their crop residues. They sell the previously worthless waste (for example plant residues such as mustard husks and stalks left over from processing into mustard oil) to the plant operator. This provides them with additional income. So that the farmers, who often have no means of transport, do not have to transport the fuel over long distances to the power plants themselves, collection centres are set up in the immediate vicinity of the plant. The sacks of plant residues delivered are weighed, the farmers are paid directly and the combustible material is then transported to the plant. These storage facilities also ensure that there is sufficient crop residue outside the harvest season to generate electricity all year round. The crop residues are burned and heat a boiler to produce steam. This steam drives the turbines and generators to produce electricity which is fed into the regional power grid.

The population living in (large) cities often suffers particularly badly from air pollution, landfills and ever increasing problems with drinking water supply. Projects to generate power from waste or landfill gas are often located in urban areas. Landfill projects comply with modern principles of waste management so that the overall environmental compatibility of waste disposal is increased. Odour nuisance for local residents is also significantly reduced by extracting and burning landfill gases. The electricity produced is fed into the local grid and jobs are also created for the local population.

Some projects combine modern water filters and efficient cooker systems. Traditionally, meals are prepared over an open fire and the resulting high exhaust emissions are a considerable burden on the climate and the health of local people. New cookers ensure a much more efficient combustion process.

They have efficient thermal insulation, optimise heat transfer to the cooking pot and consume significantly less fuel than traditional fireplaces. Furthermore,the cookers reduce harmful flue gases associated with the development of numerous respiratory, cardiovascular and eye diseases. The water filters clean water without heat, electricity or chemicals, which eliminates the need for boiling the water. Together with the efficient cookers, a large amount of firewood or charcoal is saved. This reduces CO₂ emissions and deforestation. Other positive effects on the environment include reducing soil erosion, conserving water resources and maintaining habitats for animals and plants.

The supply for sparsely populated rural regions, especially a broad-based supply of other renewable energy sources, continues to be considered a chal­lenge. Wind energy is the supporting pillar of energy transition which has developed rapidly in recent years. Wind as an energy source is available free of charge and without any restriction. Wind turbines use wind as a “raw material”. The turbine rotor first converts the kinetic energy of wind into mechanical rotational energy. A generator then converts this into electrical energy. High to medium wind speeds and the size of the rotor surface are the key elements for producing a high electricity yield. Wind blows stronger and more evenly at greater heights from the ground, so the higher the wind turbine and the longer the rotor blades, the better the turbine can exploit wind energy supply.

These projects usually feed the electricity generated into the national grid. This not only stabilises the grid, but also significantly improves the local availability of electricity in rural areas.

Water is the most important support for life which cannot be replaced. Apart from being used for drinking and cooking, water is also indispensable for daily personal hygiene and cleaning. Therefore, particularly high demands are placed on the quality of drinking water. Pathogens that get into drinking water can quickly infect a large number of people. This risk must therefore be kept very low.

Increasing weather extremes, flooding, droughts and water shortages are already visible as consequences of climate change. Not only agriculture and food security are affected, but also the entire health situation of the population. In some rural areas, infections – such as gastro-intestinal infections – are a serious threat, especially in children. They are caused by poor water quality, lack of sanitary facilities and inadequate hygiene. Water is usually boiled to rid it of viruses and bacteria and make it drinkable. Drinking water projects make water safe for consumption using a chlorine solution. The water required is usually treated with chlorine directly at the point of supply. This technology eliminates the need to boil water before consumption. CO₂ emissions are reduced because forest areas no longer have to be felled for fuel. In addition, the time-consuming and costly procurement of firewood and charcoal is eliminated. Families then have more time and money to meet other basic needs. Not only does the use of chlorine prevent gastrointestinal infections, but it also helps to reduce diseases of the eyes and respiratory tract caused by smoke from the open stoves. Comprehensive health and hygiene training courses are often offered to accompany projects.