Sustainable energy
Energy that responsibly meets social, economic, and environmental needs / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."[1][2] Most definitions of sustainable energy include environmental considerations such as greenhouse gas emissions and social and economic aspects such as energy poverty. Renewable energy sources such as wind, hydro, solar, and geothermal energy can cause environmental damage, but are generally far more sustainable than fossil fuel sources.
The role of non-renewable energy sources in sustainable energy has been controversial. Nuclear power is a low-carbon source whose historic mortality rates are comparable to those of wind and solar, but its sustainability has been debated because of concerns about radioactive waste, nuclear proliferation, and accidents. Switching from coal to natural gas has environmental benefits, including a lower climate impact, but may lead to a delay in switching to more sustainable options. Carbon capture and storage can be built into power plants to remove their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but this technology is expensive and has rarely been implemented.
Fossil fuels provide 85% of the world's energy consumption, and the energy system is responsible for 76% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Around 790 million people in developing countries lack access to electricity, and 2.6 billion rely on polluting fuels such as wood or charcoal to cook. Cooking with biomass plus fossil fuel pollution causes an estimated 7 million deaths each year. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to levels consistent with the 2015 Paris Agreement will require transforming energy production, distribution, storage, and consumption. Universal access to clean electricity can have major benefits to the climate, human health, and the economies of developing nations.
Climate change mitigation pathways have been proposed to limit global warming to 2 °C (3.6 °F). These include phasing out coal-fired power plants, conserving energy, producing more electricity from clean sources such as wind and solar, and switching from fossil fuels to electricity for transport and heating buildings. Switching to variable renewable energy requires electrical grid infrastructure such as energy storage. Hydrogen fuel produced from low-emission energy sources can be used to power technologies and processes that are difficult to electrify. Some critical technologies for eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from energy use are not yet fully developed.
Wind and solar market share grew to 8.5% of worldwide electricity in 2019 and costs continue to fall. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that 2.5% of world gross domestic product (GDP) would need to be invested in the energy system each year between 2016 and 2035 to limit global warming to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F). Government can fund the research, development, and demonstration of new clean energy technologies. Government can also encourage clean energy deployment with policies such as carbon pricing, renewable portfolio standards, phase-outs of fossil fuel subsidies, and the development of infrastructure to support electrification and sustainable transport. In many cases, this also increases energy security.