The Rationale and Stakeholder Perspectives for Sustainable Energy

Global energy demand is projected to increase by 37% between 2013 and 2035 due to population growth and rising living standards in emerging economies like China and India. This widening gap between demand and domestic production creates an energy gap, necessitating a rapid transition to infinite/renewable resources (like wind and solar) to ensure long-term energy security.

Taking Action at Different Scales

Every time you turn up the thermostat, you are adding to your personal carbon footprint. Domestic heating contributes 15% to an individual's carbon footprint, while powering homes contributes 12%. People can reduce this by taking individual actions such as installing AAA-rated appliances, using LED lighting, and driving less.

At a corporate level, companies are taking significant steps to reduce emissions. For example, Marks & Spencer achieved a 28% reduction in emissions and a 39% increase in energy efficiency. They achieved this by switching to 100% renewable electricity and replacing diesel delivery vehicles with bio-LNG.

National and global actions set the legal frameworks for sustainability:

• National (UK): The UK aims for a 77% reduction in carbon emissions by 2035 and net zero by 2050. Policies include a ban on new petrol and diesel cars, as well as new coal and oil boilers, by 2035.
• Global: The 2015 Paris Agreement involves 195 countries committing to limit global temperature rises to below 2°C.

Calculating Energy Security and Import Reliance

When a country cannot meet its own energy needs, it must import fuel. This reduces energy security and exposes the country to geopolitical price spikes.

A country consumes 600 Mtoe (Million tonnes of oil equivalent) of energy in a year but only produces 400 Mtoe domestically. Calculate the country's energy gap and its percentage reliance on energy imports.

Step 1: Calculate the energy gap (Demand - Domestic Production).

• $\text{Energy Gap} = 600 - 400$

Step 2: State the energy gap.

• $\text{Energy Gap} = 200\text{ Mtoe}$

Step 3: Calculate the import reliance percentage ($(\text{Energy Gap} \div \text{Total Consumption}) \times 100$).

• $(200 \div 600) \times 100 = 33.3\%$

Stakeholder Attitudes to Sustainable Energy

Why would someone who supports green energy object to a wind turbine being built near their house? Transitioning to a sustainable energy future involves conflicting opinions from different stakeholders. The central conflict is often the trade-off between the high reliability and historically lower cost of fossil fuels versus the higher capital cost and intermittency of renewables.

Non-renewable energy and nuclear power provide a reliable baseload (a constant minimum power supply), whereas renewables like wind and solar do not provide constant power because they are weather-dependent.

Various groups hold distinct perspectives on how energy should be managed:

• Governments: Their primary concerns are energy security, maintaining geopolitical independence, and supporting economic growth. While they set legal sustainability targets (e.g., investing in renewable subsidies), they may also support fossil fuel extraction (like fracking) to ensure a cheap, reliable gas supply.
• Transnational Corporations (TNCs): Energy companies focus on profit maximisation, efficiency, and shareholder dividends. They often prefer reliable baseload sources like gas or nuclear to ensure consistent profits, though many now use 'net zero' branding and green tariffs for social legitimisation.
• Environmental NGOs: Organisations like Greenpeace prioritise environmental conservation and climate stability. They demand a rapid shift to 100% renewables and firmly oppose unconventional fossil fuel extraction (e.g., fracking) due to risks like methane leaks and groundwater contamination.
• Local Communities: Residents prioritise their quality of life, local environment, and job creation. While they may support local fossil fuel projects for employment opportunities (e.g., fracking jobs), they frequently display NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) attitudes towards renewable infrastructure, objecting to visual pollution, shadow flicker, or wind turbine noise.

Comparing Stakeholder Views:

Examples of Energy Mix Transitions

Energy transitions look different depending on a country's wealth and geography. In the UK, renewables reached 50.8% of the energy mix in 2024.

Other global examples highlight different pathways to energy security:

• Norway: Achieved 96% energy self-reliance. High government subsidies meant that by 2021, 66% of new car sales were electric vehicles.
• Nepal: A developing nation where over 3,000 micro-hydro plants have been built with local community involvement. This decentralized approach means 98% of their electricity comes from hydroelectric power (HEP), bringing energy security to rural areas.
• Developing Nations: Energy poverty remains a massive issue, with 2.5 billion people globally still relying on fuelwood for their primary energy source, which has a high ecological footprint due to deforestation.