The current unsustainable practices worldwide in energy production and consumption have led to a plethora of environmental problems. Among the most important are the following:

• Climate change, for which energy production is 57% responsible;

• Acid rain, caused primarily by coal burning;

• Increased desertification, caused by unsustainable use of firewood for heating and cooking in developing countries;

• Ozone depletion, caused by the use of hydrofluorocarbons in refrigerators and air-conditioning units;

• Nuclear radiation;

• Soil pollution, caused by oil and geothermal exploration and production;

• Loss of habitat, caused by large-scale hydropower plants;

• Pollution of the sea, caused by oil spills from large ocean-going tankers; and

• Urban air pollution, caused by fossil-fuel burning.

All developed countries have conducted unsustainable policies in the past. Australia, with its large reserves of coal, has been one of the worst offenders, with its per capita greenhouse gas emissions being the highest in the world.

The modern watchword of environmental management is sustainable development. The origin of this principle is the 1986 Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Report). While this principle has been adopted with enthusiasm in later reports and international conventions in a variety of different environmental contexts, the one area where it has received little attention until recently is energy.

This omission is surprising in light of the importance attached by Chapter 7 of the Brundtland Report to energy issues. The report considered energy to be a major feature of sustainability, and identified the key elements as follows:

• Sufficient growth of energy supplies to meet the needs of humanity;

• Energy efficiency and conservation measures;

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