|
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute sponsored a Congressional briefing on a recently released assessment of the world’s energy situation and how it relates to economic development and a sustainable environment. Recent events in California and around the United States have raised many questions concerning electric power systems, their reliability, and of the problems associated with low inventories of oil and natural gas, increasing consumer demand and sharply escalating utility bills.
The World Energy Assessment was jointly undertaken by the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and the World Energy Council. The assessment was produced with the precise purpose of examining energy-related problems and educating policymakers on the best strategies for a vital energy future.
Energy is the lifeblood of the world economy and thus, problems are not isolated to the lights going out. To the 2 billion people, a third of the world’s population, who lack access to electricity, the lights have never come on. In addition, emissions from the production of energy from fossil fuels in modern and industrializing nations result in 3 million premature deaths per year, almost 5-6 percent of the total global mortality.
Seeking to provide policymakers with not only an outline of the current global energy situation and problems, the speakers addressed the findings of the assessment, including policy options. For instance, renewable energy resources on earth are three times larger than the total amount of energy we are using today. By removing old and extensive government subsidies to traditional fossil fuels and providing incentives to advance the development and deployment of renewable energy we can take advantage of this opportunity. In addition, more than half (63 percent) of useful energy is lost in the conversion of fossil fuels to electricity. Furthermore, significant losses occur in the end-use (such as powering appliances) of the electricity. With basic investments in energy efficiency, power production and use can become much more productive, freeing energy and capital for reinvestment into markets encouraging economic growth.
How does the current energy situation affect the United States and the world? How can energy production and use help change the world for the better? What specifically can policymakers do to get the United States and the world on track to a brighter energy future? Our distinguished panel of experts answered these questions and many more. The panel included: