Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Climate change and its impacts: a short summary
- 2 Greenhouse gas emissions
- 3 Keeping climate change within sustainable limits: where to draw the line?
- 4 Development first
- 5 Energy Supply
- 6 Transportation
- 7 Buildings
- 8 Industry and waste management
- 9 Land use, agriculture, and forestry
- 10 How does it fit together?
- 11 Policies and measures
- 12 International climate change agreements
- Index
- Plate section
5 - Energy Supply
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Climate change and its impacts: a short summary
- 2 Greenhouse gas emissions
- 3 Keeping climate change within sustainable limits: where to draw the line?
- 4 Development first
- 5 Energy Supply
- 6 Transportation
- 7 Buildings
- 8 Industry and waste management
- 9 Land use, agriculture, and forestry
- 10 How does it fit together?
- 11 Policies and measures
- 12 International climate change agreements
- Index
- Plate section
Summary
What is covered in this chapter?
Chapter 2 pointed out the fact that energy use is responsible for about two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions, which is a good reason to explore in depth in this chapter what drives energy use, how it is supplied, why countries value energy security, where its main uses are, and what greenhouse gas emissions it produces. The chapter then focuses on electricity production. Improving the efficiency of power plants, shifting from coal to gas, nuclear power, renewable energy, and capture and storage of CO2 from power plants can all help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The status of these technologies and their costs are discussed, as well as the competition between these technologies when reducing overall emissions from electricity supply. Economic, security, health, environment, and other considerations in choosing an optimal fuel mix for electricity generation are explored. Technology and economics present a fairly optimistic prospect for drastic emissions reductions. Implementing these opportunities however is hard. Selecting the right policies to provide incentives for implementation by business and individuals is crucial. On-the-ground experience is growing and lessons for effective policy choices can be drawn.
Energy and development
As outlined in Chapter 4, energy is an essential input for development. Historically there has been a very strong relation between income and energy use. Figure 2.10 shows that relationship for a number of countries for the period 1980–2004. Most countries show a steady increase in energy use per person when income per person goes up.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Controlling Climate Change , pp. 105 - 150Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009