Renewable Energy Adaptation and Development (READ) Initiative is a not-for-profit organization that is focused on promoting the development and use of renewable energy throughout sub-Saharan Africa in order to tackle climate change and foster sustainable development.

Climate change is probably the greatest single threat to the existence of the human race that has ever been documented. It is largely due to the heating up of the earth’s atmosphere resulting from the use of fossil fuels such as Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Kerosene, Diesel and Coal. By burning up these fuels, certain heat-trapping gasses also known as Green House Gasses (GHG’s) are released into the atmosphere which contributes to warming of the earth. Examples of GHG's are Carbon dioxide and Methane.

In order to stabilize GHG concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent catastrophic consequences, an international environmental treaty negotiated at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992 was established. This is known as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This has resulted in 195 nations of the world signing the treaty and collectively working to ensure that the current trend of global warming is reversed.

A major aspect of reversing the trend in global warming is a total shift in energy generation, transmission, distribution and consumption. This means creating and developing new and existing energy generation technologies that aren’t based on the use of fossil fuels and are environmentally friendly. Such energy options are generally known as renewable energy and consist of Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Biogas, Kinetic, Tidal and Hydro-electric power technologies. Please visit our webpage: read-initiative.org