The European Commission is holding out a carrot to entice developing countries into making environmental sustainability a pillar of their international trade programs. The Commission has proposed that developing countries meeting certain environmental standards be eligible for tariff concessions on their exports to the European Union.

International Finance Corporation, the private-sector lending arm of the World Bank, has postponed a decision on funding oil services companies in the Niger Delta following protests from environmental campaigners.

Duration: Two years (Renewable) Duty Station: Nairobi, Kenya; Closing Date for Applications: 30 June 2001; Contact Details: Executive Director African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) P.O. Box 45917, Nairobi, Kenya. Tel. (+254-2) 527 400/07/09 E-mailed applications are encouraged.

Is it really a lack of the right technology that is keeping solar power off the mass market? Or is the light from our nearest star, the Sun, being held hostage by an economy that is devoted to using up the Earth's last drops of fossil fuel at all cost?