Shelton Nyakundi, mwanafunzi wa umri wa miaka 18 katika shule ya bweni ya Menengai mjini Nakuru, Kenya, anaamini jambo moja rahisi linaweza kupelekea kufaulu na kutofaulu shuleni kwa wanafunzi wengi: mwangaza.
Nyakundi anasema ili kuokoa pesa, shule yake huzima taa zake zisizo za kutegemewa saa nne usiku na kuwanyima wanafunzi muda muhimu wa kusoma. "Kwa sasa, ukosefu wa mwanga ni kizingiti, nyakati za jioni na asubuhi," anasema Nyakundi, ambaye anataka kufanya kazi kama mhudumu wa afya atakapohitimu.
Kituo cha Tabianchi cha Copenhagen cha Shirika la Mazingira la Umoja wa Mataifa (UNEP) kinafadhili mradi wa majaribio unaolenga kumulikia Nyakundi na wanafunzi wenzake mustakabali wao. Jitihada hizi zinaweka kwa shule 100 za bweni nchini Kenya taa za bei nafuu, zinazotumia nishati vizuri au taa za LED, hali itakayowezesha wasimamizi wa shule kuhifadhi pesa na kuwasha taa kwa muda mrefu.
Mradi huu unafanywa kwa ushirikiano na Nishati Endelevu kwa Wote, mpango unaosimamiwa na Umoja wa Mataifa, na Wizara ya Elimu nchini Kenya. Ni sehemu ya juhudi kubwa zaidi za Kenya za kuboresha matumizi ya nishati, ambayo ni sehemu muhimu ya mipango ya nchi hii ya kupanua upatikanaji wa nishati jadidifu kwa bei nafuu.
![Nyakundi says to save money, his school switches off its inefficient incandescent lights at 10 p.m. depriving students of valuable studying time. “Right now, lack of light is a limiting factor, both in the evenings and in the mornings,” says Nyakundi, who wants to work in healthcare when he graduates. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Copenhagen Climate Centre is supporting a pilot project aiming to brighten the future of Nyakundi and his classmates. The effort is outfitting 100 Kenyan boarding schools with low-cost, energy-efficient light-emitting-diodes or LED lighting, which will allow school administrators to save money and keep lights on longer. The project is a collaboration with Sustainable Energy for All, a UN-hosted initiative, and Kenya’s Ministry of Education. It is part of a larger effort by Kenya to improve energy efficiency, which is a key component of the country’s plans to expand access to affordable renewable power. Name: 20240909_UNEP_Climate Action_Nakuru_NAY-24 Credit: UNEP/Eugene Kaiga Description: LED lightbulb being fitted Link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ueafpe8h42l21qjpjbqpo/AF8zYKqKqvku8S-xCjroucY/EXPORTS/PHOTOS/Edited?dl=0&preview=20240909_UNEP_Climate+Action_Nakuru_NAY-24.jpg&rlkey=jfnwttdkwsau9lgyeoje07ihy&subfolder_nav_tracking=1 Caption: Workers install new high-efficiency LED lights at the Menengai boarding school in Nakuru, Kenya. “Energy efficiency is one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to improve living standards and counter climate change globally and it does not require fundamental changes to existing energy systems,” says John Christensen, Director of the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre. Data from the International Energy Agency suggests that energy efficiency globally could deliver 40 per cent of the emissions cuts necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change, which aims to keep global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. At COP28 Dubai last year, governments pledged to double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements every year until 2030. UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report 2024 also highlighted the need for countries to outline in their Nationally Determined Contributions how they plan to achieve these energy efficiency improvements. Embracing energy efficiency – and LED lights in particular – could pay big dividends in countries struggling to power their schools. Globally, 25 per cent of primary schools and about 15 per cent of secondary schools lack access to electricity, affecting 186 million children, says the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Even in schools with electricity, inefficient lighting means many struggle to afford electricity bills, resulting in outages. Name: 20240909_UNEP_Climate Action_Nakuru_NAY-30 Credit: UNEP/Eugene Kaiga Description: LED lightbulb being fitted Link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ueafpe8h42l21qjpjbqpo/AF8zYKqKqvku8S-xCjroucY/EXPORTS/PHOTOS/Edited?dl=0&e=1&preview=20240909_UNEP_Climate+Action_Nakuru_NAY-30.jpg&rlkey=jfnwttdkwsau9lgyeoje07ihy&subfolder_nav_tracking=1 Caption: Lighting is responsible for about half of electricity consumption in Kenya’s schools, found an analysis by the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre. That is largely due to the proliferation of florescent and incandescent lights. Lighting is responsible for about half of electricity consumption in Kenya’s schools, according to an analysis by the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre. That is largely due to a reliance on incandescent bulbs, which have a filament that is heated until it glows, and fluorescent lighting, which generates gas from atomic collisions. Both those processes are inefficient compared to LED lighting, which passes an electrical current through a microchip, illuminating tiny light sources. In Kenyan schools, LEDs are freeing up resources that can be reinvested in other needs, such as schoolbooks, sports equipment, and teacher training. Menegai High School’s principal, John Ngunyi, said the switch to LEDs, which began in September, will benefit more than 2500 students. “The LED system will increase the amount of time that the students have for studying and the amount of time that they can have the lights on,” he says. Name: 20240909_UNEP_Climate Action_Nakuru_NAY-27 Credit: UNEP/Eugene Kaiga Description: LED lightbulb being fitted Link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ueafpe8h42l21qjpjbqpo/AF8zYKqKqvku8S-xCjroucY/EXPORTS/PHOTOS/Edited?dl=0&e=1&preview=20240909_UNEP_Climate+Action_Nakuru_NAY-27.jpg&rlkey=jfnwttdkwsau9lgyeoje07ihy&subfolder_nav_tracking=1Caption: The LED bulbs are provided by the Signify Foundation, a charity arm of Signify, a global lighting manufacturer. Eric Otenio, Signify’s Program Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, highlights that LED bulbs are much easier on students’ eyes. “They reduce flickering and therefore eyestrain and headaches,” he says. He also points out that LED bulbs need to be replaced much less frequently than fluorescent bulbs, thereby reducing waste. As school principal Ngunyi points out, it is not just the students who will benefit from the new lighting system: “[In the past] we limited the lights for the cooks and the watchmen, telling them not to put the lights on until a certain time.” Once the new LED lights are installed, Ngunyi says he won’t worry about the school’s month-end electricity bill. Name: 20240909_UNEP_Climate Action_Nakuru_NAY-25 Credit: UNEP/Eugene Kaiga Description: students in a well-lit classroom Link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ueafpe8h42l21qjpjbqpo/AF8zYKqKqvku8S-xCjroucY/EXPORTS/PHOTOS/Edited?dl=0&preview=20240909_UNEP_Climate+Action_Nakuru_NAY-25.jpg&rlkey=jfnwttdkwsau9lgyeoje07ihy&subfolder_nav_tracking=1 The LED lighting pilot project will be completed by the end of 2024 and will see more than 10,000 traditional fluorescent lamps replaced. That is expected to result in savings of more than US$213,000 a year across the 100 schools, a 27 per cent reduction in their current power bills. It will save power equivalent to the release of 460,000kg of carbon dioxide annually. “This is a win-win for schools,” says Christensen. “And it highlights the huge impact something relatively simple to implement can have on the lives of students.” ### The Sectoral Solution to the climate crisis UNEP is at the forefront of supporting the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global temperature rise well below 2°C, and aiming for 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. To do this, UNEP has developed the Sectoral Solution, a roadmap to reducing emissions across sectors in line with the Paris Agreement commitments and in pursuit of climate stability. The six sectors identified are: energy; industry; agriculture and food; forests and land use; transport; and buildings and cities.](https://cdn.unenvironment.org/inline-images/20240909_UNEP_Climate%20Action_Nakuru_NAY-24.jpg)
"Kutumia nishati vizuri ni mojawapo ya njia za haraka zaidi na za gharama nafuu za kuboresha viwango vya maisha na kukabiliana na mabadiliko ya tabianchi kote duniani na haihitaji mabadiliko makuu kwa mifumo iliyopo ya nishati," anasema John Christensen, Mkurugenzi wa Kituo cha Tabianchi cha Copenhagen cha UNEP.
Data kutoka kwa Shirika la Kimataifa la Nishati zinaonyesha kuwa matumizi mazuri ya nishati kote duniani yanaweza kupelekea asilimia 40 ya upunguzaji wa uzalishaji wa hewa chafu unaohitajika ili kufikia malengo ya Mkataba wa Paris kuhusiana na mabadiliko ya tabianchi, ambayo yanalenga kudhibiti ongezeko la joto duniani lisizidi nyuzijoto 2 kuliko viwango vya kabla ya viwanda. Katika COP28 Dubai mwaka jana, serikali ziliahidi kuongeza maradufu kiwango cha wastani cha kimataifa cha kila mwaka cha uboreshaji wa matumizi ya nishati kila mwaka hadi mwaka wa 2030. Ripoti ya Pengo la Uzalishaji wa hewa chafu ya mwaka wa 2024 ya UNEP pia iliangazia umuhimu wa nchi kuelezea katika Michango yao Inayoamuliwa na Taifa jinsi zinavyopanga kufikia matumizi haya mazuri ya nishati.
Kukumbatia matumizi mazuri ya nishati – na hasa taa za LED – kunaweza kunufaisha zaidi nchi zinazotatizika kuweka umeme kwa shule zao. Kote duniani, asilimia 25 ya shule za msingi na takriban asilimia 15 ya shule za sekondari hazina umeme, hali inayoathiri watoto milioni 186, unasema Mfuko wa Umoja wa Mataifa wa Kuhudumia Watoto (UNICEF). Hata katika shule zilizo na umeme, mwanga usioweza kutegemewa unamaanisha wengi wanatatizika kumudu kulipia umeme, na hivyo kusababisha kukatwa.
Kuwasha taa kunawajibikia takriban nusu ya matumizi ya umeme shuleni nchini Kenya, kwa mjibu wa uchanganuzi uliofanywa na Kituo cha Tabianchi cha Copenhagen cha UNEP. Sanasana inatokana na utegemezi wa balbu za inkandesenti, ambazo zina filament ambazo zinapopashwa moto huwaka, na taa za fluoresenti, ambazo hutoa gesi kutokana na migongano ya atomiki. Michakato yote miwili ina mapungufu ikilinganishwa na taa za LED, ambazo hupitisha umeme kupitia mikrochipu, inayowasha vyanzo vidogo vya mwanga.
Shuleni nchini Kenya, LEDs zinaokoa rasilimali ambazo zinaweza kuwekezwa tena katika mahitaji mengine, kama vile vitabu vya shule, vifaa vya michezo na kutoa mafunzo kwa walimu.
Mkuu wa Shule ya Upili ya Menegai, John Ngunyi, alisema kuwa kuanza kutumia LEDs, iliyoanza Septemba, kutanufaisha zaidi ya wanafunzi 2500.
"Mfumo wa LED utaongeza muda ambao wanafunzi wanakuwa nao wa kusoma na muda ambao wanaweza kuwasha taa," anasema.
Balbu hizi za LED hutolewa na Wakfu wa Signify, kitengo cha hisani cha shirika la Signify, mtengenezaji wa taa duniani. Eric Otenio, Meneja wa Programu wa Signify wa Afrika Kusini mwa Jangwa la Sahara, anaeleza kuwa balbu za LED ni bora zaidi kwa macho ya wanafunzi. "Hazizimizimi zikijiwashawasha sana na kwa hivyo kupunguza kuumwa na macho na maumivu ya kichwa," anasema. Pia anaonyesha kuwa balbu za LED zinahitaji kubadilishwa kwa nadra kuliko balbu za fluoresenti, na hivyo kupunguza uharibifu.
Kama mkuu wa shule Ngunyi anavyosema, si wanafunzi pekee watakaounufaika na mfumo mpya wa taa: “[Zamani] tulidhibiti matumizi ya taa kwa wapishi na walinzi, tukiwaamuru wasiwashe taa hadi muda fulani.” Mara tu taa mpya za LED zitakapowekwa, Ngunyi anasema hatakuwa na wasiwasi kuhusu bili ya umeme wa shule ya mwisho wa mwezi.
Mradi wa majaribio ya taa za LED utakamilika mwishoni mwa mwaka wa 2024 na utapelekea taa zaidi ya 10,000 za fluoresenti ya jadi kubadilishwa. Hiyo inatarajiwa kusababisha akiba ya dola za Marekani ya zaidi ya 213,000 kwa mwaka katika shule zote 100, punguzo la asilimia 27 ya bili zao za sasa za umeme. Itaokoa nishati sawa na kutolewa kwa kilogram 460,000 za kaboni dioksidi kila mwaka.
"Huu ni ushindi mkuu kwa shule," anasema Christensen. "Na inaonyesha athari kubwa ambayo kitu rahisi kutekelezeka kinaweza kuwa nayo katika maisha ya wanafunzi."
UNEP iko mstari mbele kuunga mkono lengo la Mkataba wa Paris la kudhibiti kiwango cha joto duniani kisizidi nyuzijoto 2, na kulenga nyuzijoto 1.5, ikilinganishwa na viwango vya kabla ya viwanda. Ili kufikia lengo hili, UNEP imeunda Masuluhisho ya Kisekta, mwongozo wa kupunguza uzalishaji wa hewa chafu katika sekta mbalimbalikwa kuzingatia ahadi katika Mkataba wa Paris ili kuwezesha kuwa na mazingira thabiti. Sekta sita zilizoainishwa ni: nishati; viwanda; kilimo na chakula; misitu na matumizi ya ardhi; uchukuzi; na ujenzi na miji.
Msururu wa Juhudi za UNEP za Kukabiliana na Mabadiliko ya Tabianchi
Kote ulimwenguni, jamii, watu binafsi na wajasiriamali wanaimarisha hatua bunifu za kukabiliana na mabadiliko ya tabianchi. Pitia awamu mpya ya Msururu wa Juhudi za Kukabiliana na Mabadiliko ya Tabianchi za UNEP, inayoangazia visa vya viongozi wanaoendeleza masuluhisho makubwa, jumuishi na endelevu kwa mabadiliko ya tabianchi yanayopelekea maendeleo endelevu.
