2.0. RELATED WORKS.
A journal issued in March/June 2012 on sustainability, energy, and development, proposed twenty-six sustainable energy indicators for cities. (1) The pointers were divided into environmental, economic, social, territorial, and political dimensions. According to this periodical, it’s critical to measure development in a city and formulate criteria for monitoring progress towards sustainability. The selection of energy fuels, production technologies, and delivery modes impacts the economic, social, and environmental spheres. Therefore, it’s apparent that policymakers should measure current and future effects of energy use on health, society, water, air, and soil to ensure their sustainability.
Energy is an impetus to social and economic welfare, eradicating poverty, and improving living standards. However, it originates from fossil fuels, which are considered environmentally unsustainable. There is always a risk or waste during energy conversion, even if translation technologies are employed, and the pollutants, when emitted, cause detrimental health and environmental effects. Energy is essential in sustainable development. Efficient energy supply is a prerequisite for economic growth. Besides, ecological and human disasters are closely tied to energy supply. It focuses on equity, which promotes universal energy access. Oil, which is the primary energy source in cities, is non-renewable and causes environmental pollution. Renewable energy sources like biomass, sunlight, hydropower, and wind, are environmentally friendly, which calls for local, regional, and global ecological re-thinking. Since measuring sustainability is an amalgam of many indicators, finding their quantitative measurement is daunting, but they can be expressed in biophysical terms.
Fig.1. Pillars of Sustainability.
Another related publication is a review of renewable energy sources, sustainability issues, and climate change mitigation. (2) In the journal, the authors assert a persistent increase in energy demand for social and economic development, welfare, and health, but the earth is static. The greatest challenge is to secure energy requirements and curb its contribution to climate change and global warming. Increased use of renewable energy is paramount in reversing climate change and meeting future generation’s energy demands. The study focused on available opportunities to utilize renewable energy, energy security and access, social and economic development, decrease in environmental and health effects, and climate change mitigation. The challenges associated with exploring renewable energy include daily carbon emission, market failure, lack of knowledge, and inaccessibility to raw resources for future renewable reserve. The journal proposes policy changes that, if employed, would achieve the goal of renewable energy.
Renewable energy has a positive impact on human and economic development. It provides energy security and access, brings about social and economic development, reverts climate change, and reduce its effects on health and the environment. Examples of renewable energy sources are bio-energy, direct solar energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, wind, and ocean energy (tide and wave).
Fig.2. Opportunities for renewable energy sources.
The study chronicled in this print proposes many policy changes to mitigate the impact of climate change. Firstly, all sectors and countries have and should explore renewable energy technologies as a matter of policy. Also, enact legislation that encourages behavioral and lifestyle change to reduce carbon footprint and curb climate change. Governments should also support innovations and technologies that minimize land use, renewable energy accidents, and resource competition risk. Lastly, developed countries should cooperate and support developing states in developing infrastructure and upgrading sustainable energy technology. The policies, if adopted, will mitigate climate change and its impacts.
The third related journal is entitled Energy Sustainability: A Pragmatic Approach and Illustrations by Marc A. Rosen. (3) In the memoir, many factors that influence energy sustainability are examined. They include harnessing sustainable energy sources, utilizing energy carriers, increasing efficiency, and reducing the environment’s impact, and promoting socioeconomic acceptability. Socioeconomic factors include affordability, equity, land use, lifestyle, and aesthetics. Further, advanced tools like exergy analysis can improve efficiency and life cycle analysis for environment analysis. It seeks to examine key factors that, if implemented, will achieve energy sustainability in a global context, and emphasize the technical aspects. The critical elements identified in this release are significantly advantageous; they can help identify, develop, and implement strategies that will lead to a societal shift towards overall sustainability.
The last related work to look at is a research article about governing for sustainable energy system change: Politics, contexts, and contingency. (4) It gives an interdisciplinary framework for regulating lasting energy system changes and focuses on socio-technical transitions and new institutionalism concepts. The pursuit of mitigating climate change depends on the transformation of how energy is produced and utilized, and the alteration needs an enabling environment. Political, contingent, and institutions govern and mediate between sustainable change and forces for continuity. Policy and governance are, therefore, critical in achieving a viable change agenda.