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Documents
in brief:
Some
150 countries have committed to Agenda
21, the plan of action for achieving human-centred sustainable
development that was adopted at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment
and Development, known as the "Earth Summit", in Rio de
Janeiro. In 1997 the Special Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGASS)
convened to review progress on Agenda 21. It noted the critical role
of energy in achieving sustainable development objectives, and declared
that the Ninth Session of the Commission
on Sustainable Development (CSD-9), in 2001, would focus specifically
on energy and transport issues. As
a way to inform discussion and debate about sustainable energy, the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), and the World
Energy Council (WEC) initiated the World Energy Assessment (WEA) with
the financial support of donors. The WEA provides an
evaluation of the social, economic, environmental and security issues
linked to energy, and the compatibility of different energy options with
objectives in these areas. The report was distributed widely prior to
CSD-9, and was offered as an input to the processes leading up to the
CSD-9 and the World
Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), the "Rio Plus Ten"
meeting (August 2002). "Current patterns of production and use of energy are creating a number of very real global problems," said Professor José Goldemberg, Chairman of the WEA. "Inequities of energy supply are unsustainable for humanitarian, political and environmental reasons. The Word Energy Assessment examines these concerns and explores the kinds of actions and polices to resolve them."
The
WEA also reviews energy resources and technology options from the
point of view of sustainability including better end-use efficiency,
greater reliance on renewable sources of energy, and next-generation
nuclear and fossil-fuel technologies. Further, the report examines
plausible scenarios for combining various options to achieve a sustainable
and relatively prosperous future scenario based more closely on current
trends, serves as a point of comparison. The report concludes by examining
policy options for producing and using energy in ways that are compatible
with sustainable development. The
volume is divided into the following parts: Part
I: Energy and major global issues Chapter
1 introduces the economic aspects of energy and considers the relationship
between energy and economic growth, the investment requirements needed
to ensure sufficient and affordable energy for the future, and various
aspects of energy pricing. Chapter
2 addresses key social issues that affect and are affected by the
way energy is produced and used, including poverty, women, urbanization
and population. It stresses the critical challenge of finding ways
to meet the needs of nearly one-third of the world's people whose
choices in life are limited by inadequate access to energy services.
The possibilities for the developing regions to take a development
path that reduce harmful emissions are also discussed. Chapter
3 considers the effects and limitations of current energy systems
and trends, in terms of the environment. The consequences of various
energy technologies, from indoor air pollution from household cooking
stoves to urban air pollution and acidification, to chemical changes
in the global atmosphere will be analysed in this context. Chapter
4, on security issues, discusses how energy supply and demand affect
issues of national, regional and global security. Part
II: The resources of energy and technology options Chapter
5 reviews the potential of known energy fossil fuel and renewable
resources to meet the world's projected demand for energy well into
the next century. Chapter
6 looks at the potential for energy end-use efficiency to offset demand
by applying known technologies to provide people with more energy
services from the same quantity of energy resources. Chapter
7 discusses the potential role renewable energy resources and technologies
including biofuels, hydropower, wind and solar energy can play in
meeting local and global demand. Chapter
8 considers advanced energy technologies that may be able to improve
the safety and environmental soundness of nuclear power and fossil
fuels. Part
III: Are sustainable futures possible? Chapter
9 evaluates three energy scenarios, showing how different patterns
of energy production and use, relate to the issues discussed in chapters
1-4. One "reference case" scenario is based on the extrapolation
of current trends; the other two project more sustainable patterns
of energy distribution and use. Chapter
10 takes a closer look at the key role rural energy can play in improving
the lives of people currently without access to modern energy services. Part
IV: Where do we go from here? Chapter
11 examines how policies can impact patterns or energy production,
distribution and use. Chapter 12 looks at how the sustainable futures discussed in Part III may be realized. It analyses past successes and failures in the policy arena, as well as barriers to change.
For
that reason, a consultative process ran in parallel and beyond the editorial
phase of the World Energy Assessment. The process was intended to offer
a wide audience of stakeholders and policy-makers the
opportunity to provide input to the report and engage in dialogue and
informal debate on energy and sustainable development issues. Broad participation
is particularly important to address the diverse priorities of different
stakeholder groups. The
writing of the report involved teams of experts from both developed
and developing countries. Each chapter was subject to peer review,
which informed and broadened the editorial process. Once the final
report was issued, discussion and consultations served to disseminate
the findings and encourage dialogue about them. The
entire process included discussions and consultations with:
These discussions took advantage of ongoing forums, and were offered as an input to the preparatory process of the CSD-9 in April 2001. The World Energy Assessment is also intended to provide background material for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), the "Rio plus Ten" conference (August 2002), which will consider progress made in the ten years since the 1992 UNCED "Earth Summit" at Rio and propose new plans of action.
United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) The
United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) mission is to help
countries achieve sustainable human development by assisting their
efforts to build their capacity to design and carry out development
programmes in poverty eradication, employment creation and sustainable
livelihoods, empowerment of women, and protecting and regenerating
the environment, giving first priority to poverty eradication. UNDP
focuses on policy support and institution building in programme countries
through its network of over 130 country offices. United
Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) The
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
facilitates intergovernmental processes and, through its Division
for Sustainable Development, services such bodies as the UN Commission
on Sustainable Development and the UN Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources for Development. UNDESA also undertakes, among other things,
statistical and analytical work to monitor the environment and sustainable
development, provides policy and technical advisory services, and
implements technical cooperation projects at the request of developing
countries in the follow-up to the 1992 Earth Summit. World
Energy Council (WEC) WEC
is a multi-energy, non-governmental, global organization, founded
in 1923. In recent years, WEC has earned a reputation in the energy
field through its studies, technical services, and regional programmes.
Its work covers long-term energy scenarios, developing country and
transitional economy energy issues, energy financing, energy efficiency
and liberalization policies, and environmental concerns. Through its
member committees in close to 100 countries, it has encouraged the
participation of private industry throughout the editorial and consultative
process for this report.
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