Goal 7
Affordable and clean energy
The way society uses energy, how efficiently it uses it and where this energy comes from are key aspects of the United Nations Agenda 2030. The Kaya identityThe Kaya identity was developed by Yoichi Kaya of Tokyo University. It is defined by EIA as an equation stating that total energy-related carbon dioxide emissions can be expressed as the product of four inputs.
more (Kaya and Yokobori, 1997; Pacini and Silveira, 2013) illustrates this problem well.
The Kaya identityThe Kaya identity was developed by Yoichi Kaya of Tokyo University. It is defined by EIA as an equation stating that total energy-related carbon dioxide emissions can be expressed as the product of four inputs.
more suggests that damage to the climate system is directly proportional to the global population, the wealth of the population, the amount of energy used to run each unit of the global economy and the carbon footprint associated with every unit of energy produced. With growing population and wealth, even unevenly distributed, emissions increase when the economy uses fossil fuel sources, thus creating an impact on the environment.
Figure 7.1 uses data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) to provide empirical illustration of the Kaya identityThe Kaya identity was developed by Yoichi Kaya of Tokyo University. It is defined by EIA as an equation stating that total energy-related carbon dioxide emissions can be expressed as the product of four inputs.
more, showing that any efficiency gains in emissions and energy usage have been clearly offset by growing populations and wealth at the global level. As population, wealth and energy usage have increased, the overall level of emissions has grown consistently over the last decades.
With the adoption by the United Nations Member States of the Sustainable Development Goals in September 2015, the linkages between energy and development will be high on the international agenda until 2030.
Goal 7 deals with sustainable energy and the targets call for universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services, a substantial increase in the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix, as well as gains in energy efficiency. To achieve these targets, Goal 7 also calls for greater international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including the upgrade of energy services and supply infrastructure particularly in least developed countries least developed countries (LDCs)The category of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) was officially established in 1971 by the UN General Assembly with a view to attracting special international support for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the UN family.
more and small island developing States (SIDS)SIDS were recognized as a distinct group of developing countries facing specific social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities at the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (3-14 June 1992).
more.
Therefore, energy should be a fundamental part of developing countries’ strategies to meet these specific goals set out by Agenda 2030, including their actions geared towards tackling climate change in accordance with commitments adopted at the 21st session of the Conference of Parties (COP21), as well as creating new sources of employment compatible with low-carbon development strategies.
This global commitment also calls for broad international cooperation for trade in energy products and for transfer of renewable and efficient energy technologies and feedstocks among different countries in the world.
The further exploitation of low-carbon and renewable energy sources will be a fundamental part of developing countries’ strategies to tackle rising carbon emissions. The report The State of the Biofuels Market: Regulatory, Trade and Development Perspectives (UNCTAD, 2014) discusses one of the renewable energy options available for countries to reduce their dependence on petroleum products, so-called biofuelsA biofuel is any fuel derived from biomass. Biomass is defined as organic matter available on a renewable basis, such as forest and mill residues, agricultural crops and residues, wood and wood residues, animal wastes, livestock operation residues, aquatic plants, and the organic portion of urban wastes.
more.
The most popular biofuelsA biofuel is any fuel derived from biomass. Biomass is defined as organic matter available on a renewable basis, such as forest and mill residues, agricultural crops and residues, wood and wood residues, animal wastes, livestock operation residues, aquatic plants, and the organic portion of urban wastes.
more in the world are biodiesel (produced mainly from canola, soybean and sunflower) and bioethanol (produced mainly from corn, wheat and sugar cane) followed by other types of vegetable oil and biogas.
Global biofuel production grew steadily from about 23 billion litres per year in 2002 to over 120 billion litres per year in 2014. While biofuel markets have grown considerably larger over the last decade, they remain a controversial energy option as their unregulated production and usage can increase competition for food, put pressure on biodiversity and sometimes represent small greenhouse gas (GHG) savings compared to fossil fuel usage. This is why regulatory oversight and sustainability certification are a fundamental part of responsible biofuels usage, which should themselves be a part of broader strategies for renewable energy deployment and energy efficiency.
Figure 7.2 shows that the bulk of the growth in bioethanol has occurred in the United States of America, whereas figure 7.3 shows the growth in biodiesel has been more regionally balanced - while the biggest growth has been in Europe, there has been notable growth in the Americas and also Asia and Oceania.
There are many factors that simultaneously constrain and strengthen the growth of the global biofuel market. These include potential feedstock competition with food commodities, the availability of natural resources, government subsidies, national commitments to mitigate climate change, oil prices and other political and environmental factors. Biofuel production faces different challenges around the world. Africa suffers from overestimated expectations and agricultural difficulties with some feedstocks, such as the plant jatropha.
But despite these challenges, countries such as Ghana, Mali and Nigeria have established mandates for the use of biofuelsA biofuel is any fuel derived from biomass. Biomass is defined as organic matter available on a renewable basis, such as forest and mill residues, agricultural crops and residues, wood and wood residues, animal wastes, livestock operation residues, aquatic plants, and the organic portion of urban wastes.
more.
In 2015, India (India, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, 2015) proposed a target of 20 per cent bioethanol and biodiesel blend by 2017 to be added to its gasoline and diesel pools and has created incentives to production in the form of capital subsidies, tax breaks and public bidding processes. In Latin America, fuel demand is rising and fossil-fuel subsidies are being slowly phased out, while at the same time novel biofuel models are being developed, since the Brazilian experience (UNCTAD, 2014) is not replicable in many of its neighbours with smaller land availability.
BiofuelsA biofuel is any fuel derived from biomass. Biomass is defined as organic matter available on a renewable basis, such as forest and mill residues, agricultural crops and residues, wood and wood residues, animal wastes, livestock operation residues, aquatic plants, and the organic portion of urban wastes.
more have a potential to overcome environmental challenges by reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Economically, biofuels sustain more than 1.7 million jobs around the world, including 845,000 in Brazil and 282,000 in the United States (REN21, 2015).
At present, a new generation of biofuelsA biofuel is any fuel derived from biomass. Biomass is defined as organic matter available on a renewable basis, such as forest and mill residues, agricultural crops and residues, wood and wood residues, animal wastes, livestock operation residues, aquatic plants, and the organic portion of urban wastes.
more that are produced with non-food feedstocks are reaching markets in increasingly larger scales. While advanced biofuels are sold so far in small volumes, they hold great promise to turn low-value feedstocks such as agricultural and forestry residues and waste into high-value products such as fuel ethanol, while at the same time avoiding competition with food markets (Gupta and Verma, 2015).
UNCTAD Biofuels Initiative works closely with other intergovernmental organizations, civil society, academia and the private sector. It participates in the activities carried out by UN-Energy and Sustainable Energy for All; on the Nairobi Framework Partnership; on the Global Bio-Energy Partnership; and the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials.
