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WASHINGTON, DC, US, September 7, 2005 (Refocus
Weekly)
Both developed and developing nations around the
world derive the same level of energy from renewables, which was
0.7% in 2001.
Developed countries consumed 6,112,050 thousand metric tonnes of
oil equivalent from all sources in that year, while developing
nations consumed 2,789,194 t-mtoe, says the World Resources
Institute in ‘The Wealth of the Poor: Managing Ecosystems to Fight
Poverty.’ Per capita consumption was 4,600 kg versus 828 kg of oil
equivalent while, in electricity consumption, the difference was
7,578 kWh per capita versus 896 kWh in developing nations.
Fossil fuels held the highest share at 84% in developed and 74% in
developing nations, while solid biomass was 2% and 22%,
respectively, while nuclear was 10% and 1%, and hydro provided 2% in
both parts of the world. Renewables, which includes biogas, liquid
biomass, geothermal, solar, wind and wave, provided 0.7% of total
energy in both developed and developing countries.
WRI quotes its sources for energy as the International Energy
Agency, World Health Organization and BP.
Programs to reduce poverty “often fail to account for the important
link between environment and the livelihoods of the rural poor” and,
as a consequence, the report notes that “the full potential of
ecosystems as a wealth-creating asset for the poor - not just a
survival mechanism - has yet to be effectively tapped.” Public
equity markets steer “billions of dollars every day” to projects
which “all too often hastens the loss of forests, fisheries and
watersheds, and underwrites the build-up of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere.”
Many private banks have committed to ‘Equator Principles’ which
incorporate social and environmental criteria in investment
decision-making, and major corporations are investing in
environmentally cleaner technology because “they are convinced it
will increase their profits and make them more internationally
competitive,” it adds. In the energy sector, the IEA estimates that
US$16,000 billion will be required for global infrastructure
investment over the next 25 years, and “redirecting this massive
capital flow to clean energy and transport systems could reduce
poverty, increase security, and stabilize GHG emissions.”
The thesis of the report is that income from ecosystems “can act as
a fundamental stepping stone in the economic empowerment of the
rural poor,” but it requires that the poor manage ecosystems so that
they support stable productivity over time. “Productive ecosystems
are the basis of a sustainable income stream from nature,” it notes.
Among its recommendations, the report calls for a reduction of CO2
emissions in fulfilment of the obligations of the Kyoto Protocol and
to reduce GHG emissions by 8% by 2012. The use of renewables in
electricity generation should increase from 29% in 1999 to 33.6% in
2015, and the share of renewables should increase to 8% of
commercial primary energy by 2011.
WRI is an environmental think tank.
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Refocus © Copyright 2005, Elsevier
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