Access to energy is a basic human need and crucial for promoting human development and economic growth. According to the United Nations, over 1.4 billion people worldwide have no access to electricity, while a billion more have only intermittent access. In Cameroon, only 48% of the population had access to electricity in 2009, increasing dependence on traditional biomass for cooking and heating. This energy poverty has a devastating impact on human development and contributes to deforestation, which accounts for up to 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, Cameroon’s energy supply, 90% of which comes from hydropower, is vulnerable to droughts.
