World Energy Assessment: Energy and the Challenge of Sustainability
UNDP's flagship energy publication, this publication provides the best current thinking on the
social, economic, environmental and security issues linked to energy, and the compatibility
of different energy options. It analyses how energy can serve as an instrument to reach the goal
of sustainable human development, which has been committed to by the United Nations and its Member
States. It describes the fundamental relationship between energy and sustainable human development
and shows how different approaches to energy relates to other issues in the world, such as economic
growth, poverty alleviation, the situation of women, security and a wide range of environmental
issues from indoor air pollution to urban air pollution, from acidification to climate change.
It concludes that the adoption of new policies that encourage the delivery of energy services
in cleaner and more efficient ways is a prerequisite to address current development problems.
The World Energy Assessment (WEA) showed that by acting now to embrace these policies, a more
equitable, economically prosperous, and environmentally sound world is within our reach.
The World Energy Assessment Overview:
2004 Update is available.
The original overview included in the WEA report
remains available in all UN official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian,
Spanish)
The WEA report shows how energy is an essential component of sustainable
development for social and economic progress that meets the needs of both present and future
generations. The report discusses the linkages between energy and economic, social, environmental,
and security issues, and analyses the contradictions between current patterns of use and objectives
in these areas.
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 original volume is divided into the following parts:
Overview
Overiew that is part of the original publication.
(An updated version has since been
published: World Energy Assessment
Overview: 2004
Update)
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.
Part V: Further Information and Reference Material
Additional information: Annexes, biographies, glossary, contributors, indexes
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Documents in brief:
Download the Press Release (2 p.)
Download Laying the Groundwork PDF (6 p.)
Download Key Messages PDF (5 p.)
