Energy: Future Strategies for Sustainability
March 6, 1993
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Panelists:
David Criswell
Director, Institute of Space Systems Operations, University of Houston
William Moomaw
Professor and Director, International Environment and National Resource Program, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
Dennis Pirages
Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland; Author, Global Technopolitics: The International Politics of Technology and Resources
Joseph Romm
Research Scholar, Rocky Mountain Institute; Author, The Once and Future Superpower: How to Restore America's Economic, Energy and Environmental Security
Interlocutor:
Neva Goodwin
Director, Program for the Study of Sustainable Change and Development
Moderator:
Phil Torres
EPIIC Colloquium
In this post-Cold War world, the international economy is increasingly becoming the arena where security concerns are played out. As societies look to the future, there is rising recognition that national securty doctrine must encompass economic security. Maintaining economic strength requires energy and a healthy environment to support and sustain it. Establishing stable supplies of energy at stable prices has been considered a security issue since the industrial revolution, a situation most recently accentuated by Desert Storm.
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Energy is linked to virtually all forms of economic activity. It drives the turbines of industrialized societies and is the engine of development for lesser developed countries (LDCs). Economic productivity relies on energy and energy use affects and is determined by the environment. Sustainability, both environmentally and economically, had become the emphasis of development strategy as opposed to the focus solely on economic growth. This was highlighted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development last year, in addtition to the Brundtland Commission's report "Our Common Future".
With the introduction of the steam engine, a shift was made to fossil fuels from fuelwood and work animals. Today, the economy's reliance on fossil fuels raises both political and environmental problems. The transformations in energy use that have occurred in the 20th century were prompted by the oil crises of the 1970s. These shocks to the global economy led to increased energy efficiency in industrialized countries, while LDCs faced mounting indebtedness. The oil crises also had the effect of, due to resulting energy consumption, decoupling economic growth and energy consumption in developed countries.
More than 50 percent of the world's oil is located in the Middle East, a politically volatile region. Currently, a military fleet is needed to ensure access and supply. These are part of the hidden economic costs. In 1985, the US paid seven times the actual price of oil to protect its supply.
Fossil fuels are widely criticized as having a destructive effect on the environment. Today the environmental concerns of air pollution and global warming are influencing a potential shift back to renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, taking advantage of advances in technology. The carbon dioxide that is released when oil, coal and natural gas are burned has been cited as a major cause of global warming. If fossil fuels continue to be the world's primary source of energy, the environmental consequences may prove to be very detrimental, especially when viewed in conjunction with current consumption patterns of industrialized countries and population growth rates of LDCs.
Western nations, with less than 25 percent of the world's population, consume over 40 percent of the world's fuels or primary electricity. Per capita comparisons are even more striking with one person in the industrialized world consuming as much energy as ten in the developing world. Still, since 1970, commercial energy use in LDCs has tripled and is expected to continue rising.
The need for energy to drive economic growth in LDCs is especially acute. In the push for development, LDCs are faced with issues of environmental degradation and international pressure to preserve global environmental security. Sustainable energy sources need to be found, utilized and made accessible, for long term growth.
There are various ways to shift to an environmentally and economically sustainable energy strategy. Energy experts are recommending a diversification of energy sources instead of reliance on one source such as oil. Other sources include solar, geothermal, hydropower, biomass (another fossil fuel), wind, fusion, and nuclear. World Resources Institute estimates that the wind resource of the 12 mid-continent United States is equal to three times the U.S. electricity consumption of 1987. Also, increased efficiency and conservation are promoted as ways to reduce energy consumption and increase productivity per dollar of GNP. Japan and Germany use half as much energy per dollar of GNP as the U.S., mostly due to "smarter" technologies.
Market forces can also be employed to reduce energy consumption and switch reliance from fossil fuels to renewable, environmentally benign energy sources. Suggestions include increased government regulation, various taxes and tradeable emissions permits.
In considering future strategies of sustainability it is important to ask what type of economic growth is compatible with sustainability.