Energy indicators for sustainable development

Energy is an essential factor in overall efforts to achieve sustainable development. Countries striving to this end are seeking to reassess their energy systems with a view toward planning energy programmes and strategies in line with sustainable development goals and objectives. This paper summarizes the outcome of an international partnership initiative on indicators for sustainable energy development that aims to provide an analytical tool for assessing current energy production and use patterns at a national level. The proposed set of energy indicators represents a first step of a consensus reached on this subject by five international agencies—two from the United Nations system (the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the International Atomic Energy Agency), two from the European Union (Eurostat and the European Environment Agency) and one from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (the International Energy Agency). Energy and environmental experts including statisticians, analysts, policy makers and academics have started to implement general guidelines and methodologies in the development of national energy indicators for use in their efforts to monitor the effects of energy policies on the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.     

Energy planning in developing countries

The sharp increases in international oil prices during the past decade have had a major impact on growth prospects and balance of payments in developing countries. This has led to an increasing awareness that energy is a crucial factor in the development process. This paper describes the planning context in developing countries and summarizes their needs. Within an overall analytical framework for analysis and planning, a number of specific approaches and examples are given in the areas of energy demand and supply planning. One of the major conclusions is that the energy planning process can be effective only as an integral part of development planning.     

Energy pricing policies in developing countries

Government energy pricing policies have multiple and often conflicting objectives: economic efficiency, government revenues (for both parastatal supply companies and the treasury), maintenance or improvement of income distribution, promotion of particular sectors (such as industrial exporters and local resource development) demand management and security of supply. It is important to examine the impacts on and the trade-offs between these objectives resulting from alternative policies in order to assist in policy selection. This article discusses the more important objectives and their conflicts and outlines an approach for the quantitative examination of alternative policies.     

Energy futures for oil-importing developing countries

A number of energy proposals for oil-importing developing countries (OIDCs) are presented in outline, pointing out strengths and weaknesses. Taking the analysis of the proposals further, the paper then discusses the broader political and economic factors that shape the nature of demand. In essence, it shows that energy proposals formulated on the basis of short-term economic considerations while ignoring how demand is moulded by political and economic structures, unnecessarily narrow the energy options. In conclusion, some criteria for an equitable energy policy are presented.     

Exergetic sustainability indicators for a high pressure hydrogen production and storage system

This study examines the exergetic sustainability effect of PEM electrolyzer (PEME) integrated high pressure hydrogen gas storage system whose capacity is 3 kg/h. For this purpose, the indicators, previously used in the literature, are taken into account and their variations are parametrically studied as a function of the PEME operating pressure and storage pressure by considering i) PEME operating temperature at 70 °C, ii) PEME operating pressures at 10, 30, 50 and 100 bar, iii) hydrogen gas flow rate at 3 kg/h and iv) storage pressure between 200 and 900 bar. Consequently, the results from the parametric investigation indicate that, with the ascent of storage pressure from 200 to 900 bar at a constant PEME operating pressure (=50 bar), exergetic efficiency changes decreasingly between 0.612 and 0.607 while exergetic sustainability between 1.575 and 1.545. However, it is estimated that waste exergy ratio changes increasingly between 0.388 and 0.393 while environmental effect factor between 0.635 and 0.647. Additionally, it is said that the higher PEME outlet pressure causes the higher exergetic sustainability index, the lower environmental effect factor, the lower waste exergy output, the higher exergetic efficiency. However, the higher storage pressure causes the lower exergetic efficiency, the higher waste exergy output, the higher environmental effect factor and the lower exergetic sustainability index. Thus, it is recommended that this type of the system should be operated at higher PEME outlet pressure, and at an optimum hydrogen storage pressure.     

Energy problems and policies in developing countries

This paper evaluates trends in energy consumption and supply, national responses in restructuring the energy sector emanating from the global oil price increases of 1973–74 and 1979–80, as well as efforts to restructure the economic systems in developing nations. The analysis reveals diverse trends and effects of measures taken but concludes by pointing to the capital constraints and intensification of energy consumption due to various aspects of economic development compounding the energy problems faced by these countries. The implications of past trends and efforts are summarized to conclude that unless efforts are mounted worlwide to mitigate the problems of these nations, the global community could be affected by a growing and widespread crisis.     

Energy conservation in the industrial sector of developing countries

This paper begins by examining the most energy-intensive industries and methods by which fuel efficiency can be improved. Next the author analyses the economics of energy conservation using specific case studies drawn from India. It is shown that investing in energy efficiency is more economical Btu per Btu than investing in the enhancement of domestic energy resources. The author also assesses changes in the economics of conservation for private firms when there are government incentives. Finally government policies that can overcome economic and non-economic disincentives for investing in energy conservation are examined.     

Policy framework on energy access and key development indicators: ECOWAS interventions and the case of Ghana

Energy has become the main driver for development as industries grow, agricultural sectors become more modernized, economies boom and countries become wealthy. There are still vast majority of people living under the poverty line especially in the ECOWAS region. The purpose of this study is to explore how improvements in energy access can be a key driver in economic development and progress in the ECOWAS region. Data for the study was obtained from the database of the World Bank. A regression analysis was carried out to establish the relationships between energy access and development indicators. The paper suggests the need for policy makers in the ECOWAS region to focus on targets, such as household access, consumption of electricity, and ease of use instead on supply targets that focus merely on physical coverage. A case on how Ghana is improving energy access is presented.     

Analysis of agricultural sustainability: A review of exergy methodologies and their application in OECD countries

This article proposed the combination of cumulative exergy extraction from the natural environment and extended exergy analysis to analyse international environmental performance in agricultural production. The unified approach allowed the cumulative analysis of total extraction of all types of resources and services from the ecosystem in agriculture. The analysis, therefore, enabled a more accurate comparison of the environmental performance of different countries or systems based on different indicators of sustainability. The application was conducted for 29 OECD countries for the years from 1990 to 2003 with some important findings. First, the organic contents in topsoil, feed and total water withdrawal were the three types of resources that agricultural production extracted most from the environment. Second, during the 14 years surveyed, the efficiency of using exergy in the livestock sector was much lower than the efficiency in the crop sector. Third, the environmental loading of economic investment had increased slightly, implying a minor increase in the pressure on the environment overtime. In addition, the empirical study on OECD countries confirmed that rankings varied widely based on different indicators. The empirical results gave some evidence to support the use of non‐renewability yield ratio, firstly defined in this paper, because the rankings based on this indicator was more consistent with many other indicators. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling energy systems for developing countries

Developing countries’ energy use is rapidly increasing, which affects global climate change and global and regional energy settings. Energy models are helpful for exploring the future of developing and industrialised countries. However, energy systems of developing countries differ from those of industrialised countries, which has consequences for energy modelling. New requirements need to be met by present-day energy models to adequately explore the future of developing countries’ energy systems. This paper aims to assess if the main characteristics of developing countries are adequately incorporated in present-day energy models. We first discuss these main characteristics, focusing particularly on developing Asia, and then present a model comparison of 12 selected energy models to test their suitability for developing countries. We conclude that many models are biased towards industrialised countries, neglecting main characteristics of developing countries, e.g. the informal economy, supply shortages, poor performance of the power sector, structural economic change, electrification, traditional bio-fuels, urban–rural divide. To more adequately address the energy systems of developing countries, energy models have to be adjusted and new models have to be built. We therefore indicate how to improve energy models for increasing their suitability for developing countries and give advice on modelling techniques and data requirements.     

Energy policy issues in developing countries Lessons from ASEAN''s experience

This paper reviews the energy policy responses of the five countries originally composing the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand — following the first price shocks of 1973–1974. It analyses the implications of the demand and supply management policies adopted, especially those related to pricing and diversification. It calls attention to the implications of these policies for structural changes in industries, including the shift away from energy-intensive to labour-intensive technologies; the role that technological change and technology transfer can play; the role of the transport sector in conservation, and the scope for oil-to-coal switching. It raises policy and research questions on the allocative efficiency of demand and supply management policies.     

Opportunities for low carbon sustainability in large commercial buildings in China

China's building sector consumes one quarter of total energy consumption in the country and plays an important role in long-term ability of the country to achieve sustainable development. This paper discusses a comprehensive approach to achieving low carbon sustainability in large commercial buildings in China incorporating both energy and carbon-reduction strategies. The approach concentrates primarily on three complementary aspects: (a) the introduction of an effective energy management system; (b) the incorporation of relevant advanced energy saving technologies and measures and (c) the promotion of awareness among occupants to make changes in their behaviour towards a more environmental-friendly behaviour. However, reference is also made to the role that renewable energy and offsetting may have in the effective management and environmental performance of buildings.Nine examples of large commercial buildings in Beijing and Shanghai were studied and the average electricity consumption of around 153 kWh/m² per annum is about 5 times higher than average electricity use in residential buildings. At the same time the associated green house gas (GHG) emissions are around 158 kg/m² per annum.     

Benchmarking the energy use of energy-intensive industries in industrialized and in developing countries

Improved energy efficiency is among the key measures for CO₂ emission abatement in the industry. Energy benchmark curves provide data measured at individual plants and they offer a basis to estimate the sectoral energy efficiency improvement potentials (IP) compared to a best practice technology (BPT) currently in operation worldwide. In this paper, we estimate the BPT energy use of 17 industry sectors based on such curves or energy indicators prepared at country-level. We compare BPT data with current energy use to estimate the IP. According to our analysis, BPT offers improvement potentials of 27 ± 8% worldwide. This is equivalent to 32.5 ± 9.6 EJ (exajoules) of final energy savings worldwide, of which three-quarters can be achieved in developing countries. Due to lack of benchmark curves and limited data availability for developing countries, our results include uncertainties. We used literature data at country-level and international energy statistics to fill data gaps and to develop energy indicators. Quality of these data should be improved and benchmark data needs to be collected for more sectors. By doing so, energy benchmarking could become a key tool to estimate energy saving potentials and energy indicators could serve as strong supplementary methodology.     

Energy consumption and modes of industrialization Four developing countries

Because of heterogeneity of developing countries, energy consumption dynamics can only be analysed at the level of individual countries. This paper focuses on the comparison of the energy consumption dynamics of South Korea, India, Brazil and Mexico and on the origins of the dynamics observed. It is shown that the same factors explain the diversified energy consumption dynamics: the national availability of energy resources, the energy policies and the modes of industrialization adopted, as well as the patterns of private consumption.     

Sustainable energy policy indicators: Review and recommendations

Nowadays, the development of a sustainable indicators’ framework towards the sustainable energy policy making should be characterized by clarity and transparency. Even though the energy policy making has been the subject of many researchers, studies proposing an appropriate framework of sustainable indicators that have to be used are not present in the international literature. The purpose of the current paper is to present an integrated review of the methodologies and the related activities of the energy indicators and to recommend an operational framework of appropriate indicators supporting thus the policy makers/analysts/citizens towards a sustainable energy policy making.     

Energy consumption,economic growth and prices: A reassessment using panel VECM for developed and developing countries

This paper reinvestigates the energy consumption–GDP growth nexus in a panel error correction model using data on 20 net energy importers and exporters from 1971 to 2002. Among the energy exporters, there was bidirectional causality between economic growth and energy consumption in the developed countries in both the short and long run, while in the developing countries energy consumption stimulates growth only in the short run. The former result is also found for energy importers and the latter result exists only for the developed countries within this category. In addition, compared to the developing countries, the developed countries’ elasticity response in terms of economic growth from an increase in energy consumption is larger although its income elasticity is lower and less than unitary. Lastly, the implications for energy policy calling for a more holistic approach are discussed.     

Sustainable rural bioenergy production for developing countries

Bioenergy is a renewable energy source made from biomass, which are organic materials such as plants and animals. Until enough biomass resources to ensure energy demand in the world is available, the bioenergy obtained from biomass, there may be used for heat, electrical and transport. Main biomass thermo-chemical conversion technologies are pyrolysis, gasification, and liquefaction. Biomass can be burned to produce heat and electricity, changed to gas-like fuels such as methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide, or changed to a liquid fuel. Modern biomass can be used for the generation of electricity and heat using modern conversion technologies. Technological advances have made modern biomass cogeneration plants cleaner, more efficient, and, under certain conditions, cost-effective as compared to public utility grids and fossil-fuel boilers or generators. Biomass can be converted to liquid biofuels: bioethanol and biodiesel. Two biofuels are becoming more and more attractive and competitive as complementary to or substitutions for petroleum basic products, due to their economic and environmental benefits.     

An analytical method for the measurement of energy system sustainability in urban areas

Assessing the sustainability of urban energy systems and forecasting their development are important topics that have been the focus of recent research. In this paper, an approach for the measurement the sustainability of an urban energy system is introduced. The approach is based on prediction of the future energy needs within the consuming sectors of a city by specification of energy system development scenarios and validation of the scenarios by a multi-criteria decision method. Prediction of energy needs for the area of the city using the simulation model, model for analysis of the energy demands (MAED) is done. Finish the last level of aggregation, using the method of multi-criteria analysis, is getting the General Index of Sustainability (GIS), which shows a measure of the validity or viability, or quality of the investigated scenarios. In this way, the mathematical and graphical made a synthesis of all the indicators that are relevant to sustainable development. The accuracy in determining the mean of the GIS is checked by calculating the standard deviation. Also, a measure of reliability of the preference when watching a few consecutive scenarios was performed. The defined scenarios take into account the utilization of different energy sources, the exploitation of existing energy plants and infrastructure, and the building of new plants. The sustainability criteria are described by a unique set of economic, social and ecological indicators. The new approach was used to forecast the development of sustainable energy system in Belgrade, Serbia.     

Energy policy in developing countries

Energy investment in developing countries is capital intensive and involves financing problems and difficulties in determining budget priorities. In oil, investment may mean decisions about devolution of control over national resources. In coal, few developing countries have yet fully developed their natural resources. Electricity investment is particularly capital intensive and the sector involves different problems to those of the primary fuel sectors. Natural gas production is expected to increase rapidly over the next few years. In each sector, different problems arise in different developing countries, and the aspects discussed cover a range of the problems that are often encountered.