Sustainable energy resources
To meet increasing global demand for energy, while reducing the risk of either causing damage to the environment or contributing to global warming, it is important that:
- Developing countries reduce deforestation and increase afforestation (plant trees)
- All countries find new sources of energy and develop existing sources that are more sustainable and environmentally friendly than fossil fuels
- Industries and domestic consumers of energy use it more efficiently to prevent waste
- Developed countries switch from fossil fuelNatural, finite fuel formed from the remains of living organisms, eg oil, coal and natural gas. to alternative sources 鈥 solar, wind, tidal and hydroelectric power (HEP)Energy generated from fast-flowing water.
As developing countries start to use more energy, they are encouraged to develop more sustainable sources of energy and to control their population growth so they use less.
The purpose of sustainability is to manage resources, or run projects or industries, so future generations can use the resources too. International concern has led many countries to try to reduce their use and consumption of carbon-based fossil fuels.
World summits enable governments to get together and discuss global strategies. Many governments signed the Kyoto ProtocolAt the United Nations conference in Kyoto, Japan in 1997, MEDC governments pledged to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases., committing them to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2015, 196 of the world's nations signed the Paris Agreementa legally binding international treaty on climate change signed in 2015 by 196 countries. Its goal is to limit global warming tobelow 2 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels., which bound them to striving to keep the global temperature at no more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy
One of the key challenges in addressing climate change will be to make sure that developing nations have access to affordable, clean and renewable means of generating electricity to lessen the dependence on fossil fuels. This is addressed by Goal 7 of the UN's Global Goals.
Find out about the importance of clean energy
Sustainable energy in Scotland
Scotland is a world leader in generating electricity from clean, renewable sources. Scotland can generate most of the electricity it needs from wind alone.
Despite this, there is still much to be done to remove dependency on fossil fuels:
- Most of Scotland's homes are heated using boilers than burn gas.
- Most of the cars on the road still use petrol or diesel.
Watch this video to find out more about energy issues and solutions in Scotland.
Find out about Scotland's clean energy generation