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Publication Laka-library:
Energy and the challenge of sustainability (2000)

Author	UNDP, World Energy Council
Date	2000
Classification	6.01.2.16/37 (NP & GREENHOUSE EFFECT - NUCLEAR POWER YES OR NO SOLUTION & SCENARIOS)
Front

Preface

Energy is central to achieving the interrelated economic, social, and environmental 
aims of sustainable human development. But if we are to realise this important 
goal, the kinds of energy we produce and the ways we use them will have to 
change. Otherwise, environmental damage will accelerate, inequity will increase, 
and global economic growth will be jeopardised.
We cannot simply ignore the energy needs of the 2 billion people who have no 
means of escaping continuing cycles of poverty and deprivation. Nor will the local, 
regional, and global environmental problems linked to conventional ways of using 
energy go away on their own. Other challenges confront us as well: the high prices 
of energy supplies in many countries, the vulnerability to interruptions in supply, 
and the need for more energy services to support continued development.
The World Energy Assessment affirms that solutions to these urgent problems are 
possible, and that the future is much more a matter of choice than destiny. By 
acting now to embrace enlightened policies, we can create energy systems that lead 
to a more equitable, environmentally sound, and economically viable world.
But changing energy systems is no simple matter. It is a complex and long-term 
process-one that will require major and concerted efforts by governments, 
businesses, and members of civil society. Consensus on energy trends and 
needed changes in energy systems can accelerate this process.
The World Energy Assessment was undertaken, in part, to build consensus on how 
we can most effectively use energy as a tool for sustainable development. Its analysis 
shows that we need to do more to promote energy efficiency and renewables, and to 
encourage advanced technologies that offer alternatives for clean and safe energy 
supply and use. We also need to help developing countries find ways to avoid 
retracing the wasteful and destructive stages that have characterised 
industrialisation in the past.
Considerable work by many individuals went into this publication, and my hope 
is that it contributes to a more equitable, prosperous, and sustainable world.

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