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This paper discusses the economic, social and environmental benefits from using solar water heating (SWH) in Zimbabwe. By comparing different water heating technology usage in three sectors over a 25-year period, the potential of SWH is demonstrated in alleviating energy and economic problems that energy-importing countries like Zimbabwe are facing. SWH would reduce coincident electricity winter peak demand by 13% and reduce final energy demand by 27%, assuming a 50% penetration rate of SWH potential demand. Up to $250 million can be saved and CO 2 emissions can be reduced by 29% over the 25-year period. Benefits are also present at individual consumer level, for the electricity utility, as well as for society at large. In the case of Zimbabwe, policy strategies that can support renewable energy technologies are already in current government policy, but this political will need to be translated into enhanced practical activities. A multi-stakeholder approach appears to be the best approach to promoting widespread dissemination of SWH technologies.

a b s t r a c tCarbon capture and storage (CCS) can contribute to the deep CO 2 cuts which are necessary to achieve climate change targets. There is, however, a strong public debate whether CCS should be implemented. In this article we give an overview of the arguments for and against based on the opinion of Dutch stakeholders. CCS is an umbrella term for a wide range of different configurations of separate technologies. Some arguments are applicable in general for all CCS chains; some are only valid for a particular configuration. In this paper we will discuss these arguments in the context of the background of different CCS configurations. The argument that CCS costs a lot of extra energy, for instance, is valid for the power sector, not for gas treatment. A good understanding of the CCS debate and the arguments used may help with developing a better energy policy and may give direction to future research and technology development.Crown

a b s t r a c t CO 2 capture and storage (CCS) represents an important option to mitigate climate change. However, the implementation of CCS is slow. We analysed one of the unsuccessful projects in the Netherlands that is referred to as the Barendrecht CO 2 storage project, with an emphasis on the role of the national government. We performed an event analysis based on debates in the Dutch Parliament, interviews with the relevant stakeholders and published literature. We show that the opinion of the national government regarding this project changed over time. Consensus on the necessity of CCS was assumed at the start of the project. However, over time, the local opposition intensified, and both CCS as a climate mitigation strategy and its implementation, including its location, were contested. An important contributor was the lack of solid outside support, whereas the views of opponents were strongly represented. Additionally, due to multiple delays, the momentum was lost, which ended the enthusiasm of initial supporters. To ensure implementation of future CCS projects, overall national support should therefore be guaranteed prior to the start of the project.

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