Energy And The Environment Into The 1990s Related Topics

Author : Stephen Robert Connors
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 28 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (69 download)

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Download or read book Issues in Energy and Sustainable Development written by Stephen Robert Connors and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Energy has long played a central role in the development and functioning of the world's economy. An essential input to agricultural production, transportation, industry, commerce and the home, reliance on energy will continue to grow as world population increases and standards of living improve. The trend towards increased mobility, urbanization and an integrated global economy will further accelerate our energy use and dependence. History has also shown us that increased energy use and mechanization brings with it its own burdens with respect to the environment, health, safety, lifestyle and community. Recent analysis of international energy trends shows that under "conventional development strategies," global energy consumption is projected to be half again as large in 2015 as it was in the early 1990s, and may double again between 2015 and 2030. Most of the growth in energy use and its associated environmental impacts will occur in developing countries. While future changes in population, technology, and economic growth are unknown, what is clear is that a balance between energy, economics, and the environment will be needed for sustainable development to occur. A growing dependence on energy carries significant costs of its own. The extraction, refinement, transportation and storage of fuels carries an immense environmental burden, as does its ultimate consumption, and disposal of waste products. These burdens have local, regional and global manifestations, ranging from impacts on soil, groundwater and land-use, to those on atmosphere and ocean. Foremost among many communities are the local and regional environmental impacts. While these are not new issues, the need to manage our energy use and reduce its negative impacts has grown more immediate as regional economies grow and prosper. Presently, the most important global issue is the role of energy in climate change. Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) and biomass (wood, crop residues, dung) produces carbon dioxide (C0 2) gas as well as energy. Carbon dioxide is a "greenhouse gas," which traps infrared radiation (heat) from escaping the atmosphere, affecting the earth's thermal balance. International concern about the impacts of "global warming" on rainfall patterns, sea level, frequency of severe storms, ecosystems and agriculture led to the negotiation of an international treaty, the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC). The FCCC calls for "...stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. ...within a timeframe sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner." In December 1997, the Conference of the Parties to the FCCC negotiated a THE KYOTO PROTOCOL, which if ratified, requires participating countries-mostly industrialized nations-to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to eight percent below 1990 levels by 2012. The role of energy in meeting these goals is central, both as a source of CO2 emissions (the largest anthropogenic greenhouse gas), primarily via the combustion of fossil fuels and as a major driver of economic growth. Because almost all of the world's countries depend on fossil fuels for most of their commercial energy, decisions to reduce emissions will have very direct economic as well as environmental impacts. The carbon-hydrogen bond in fossil fuels (hydrocarbons) is the source of energy, and therefore it is very difficult to continue using fossil fuels without producing significant GHG emissions. As such, substantial and sustained reductions in GHGs, such as the initial eight percent reduction called for in the Kyoto Protocol, will influence national energy policies and investments as directly as individual governments' economic and environmental goals have in the past. Unlike the situation for local and regional environmental issues, the Kyoto Protocol calls for an institutional mechanism to support energy technology transfer to developing countries that could lower the release of greenhouse gases, and their cost of mitigation. Hence, the need to rethink how and why we use energy, and to identify and develop new sustainable energy options. By taking these first steps towards the deployment of a clean and efficient integrated energy infrastructure, it is possible simultaneously reduce emissions related to acid rain, urban smog, toxic exposure and climate change, as well as reduce energy related demand on land and water use.