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Eduardo Avila - Brazilian, Latin America and the Caribbean

2020 Winner | Economist and entrepreneur | Brazilian

One quarter of Rio's population live in favelas, with social marginalization, inadequate infrastructure, and unaffordable energy supply with prices doubling in the last decade. This low-income population perceives energy services as expensive, unreliable, unfair, low quality and distant from their reality. Revolusolar partners with two favelas to co-create a new affordable, community-based and sustainable energy model, aligned with the traditions of collective action and self-management of these territories. The solution includes solar installations, professional training to local residents as electricians and solar installers, and workshops for childrens on sustainability. In 2020, we're implementing the first solar cooperative in a favela. The financing model includes institutional sponsors and a rental component: the solar beneficiaries pay a monthly fee (part of the savings with the electricity bill). We expect this pilot to be the beginning of a Solar Revolution, aiming for sustainable development of low-income communities through solar energy.

As an economist studying finance mechanisms for renewable energy projects and surrounded by social inequality, I started to build the idea of combining these techniques with the low-income communities' strengths to promote their sustainable development and help to solve the most urgent problems of our time. Today, as the Executive Director at Revolusolar, I have the opportunity to carry out this project. Recently, representing this idea, we were awarded in one of the most recognized social entrepreneurship programs in Brazil (" Lab Habitação: Inovação e Moradia") and at the international innovation finance program " Climate Finance Lab".

Avertissement: NOTE: Ce contenu a été mis en ligne pour le cycle 2019 du programme Jeunes champions de la Terre et n'a pas été mis à jour. Cette liste ne constitue ni une approbation ni un statut auprès du Programme des Nations unies pour l'environnement.

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