Energy

Energy is a central component of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), explicitly reflected in SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy. However, the theme of energy cuts across multiple SDGs, demonstrating the interconnectivity of these global goals.

SDG 7's objective is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. Energy, in its various forms, is a vital driver of economic growth and is pivotal to nearly all aspects of development. Without a steady and reliable supply of energy, societies can hardly progress. However, millions of people around the world still lack access to modern and clean energy services. The emphasis on "affordable and clean" energy within this goal shows the need to transition from traditional energy sources, often characterized by high environmental costs, to more sustainable ones like wind, solar, and hydropower.

Energy's role is also significant in achieving other SDGs. For example, SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, emphasizes the need for sustainable and resilient infrastructure with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean technologies. It is almost impossible to achieve this without a sustainable energy framework. Similarly, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, calls for making cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, and one of its targets (11.6) directly refers to the environmental impact of cities, for which energy is a key factor.

Furthermore, energy is a crucial player in SDG 13: Climate Action. The energy sector represents the largest single source of global greenhouse gas emissions. Transitioning to a sustainable energy future, therefore, is critical for tackling climate change. Efforts to reduce emissions and promote clean energy sources are crucial to mitigate climate change and its impacts.

Private and public sector organisations are increasingly required to report on their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The UK approach has a bearing on SDG 13.
Clean energy transition.
As the country with the world's largest coal power capacity, China is launching a national carbon market. How the carbon pricing may contribute to phasing out China's coal power is a great concern. We collect full-sample data set of China's 4540 operating coal plant units and develop a stochastic Monte-Carlo financial model to assess the financial sustainability of the plant operation. Although China's coal plants have long residual technical lifetime, their operations are close to the break-even state.
Elsevier,

Nuclear Decommissioning Case Studies, Volume Two - Policies, Strategies, Planning and Knowledge Management, 2021, Pages 3-7

This book chapter advances SDG 7 and 11 by highlighting the concepts of policy, strategy, early and detailed planning, Life Cycle Management, and poor or good practices associated with nuclear decommissioning.
Elsevier, Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Volume 3, June 2021
The widespread consumption of electronic devices has made spent batteries an ongoing economic and ecological concern with a compound annual growth rate of up to 8% during 2018, and expected to reach between 18% and 30% to 2030. There is a lack of regulations for the proper storage and management of waste streams that enables their accumulation in open settings and the leakage of hazardous substances into the environment on landfill settings.
Elsevier,

Prevention of Actuator Emissions in the Oil and Gas Industry, 2021, Pages 59-77

This book chapter advances SDG 7 by explaining how actuators at oil and gas locations contribute to emissions and describes flow charts for proper actuator selection including utilizing electric actuators to help environmental impact.
Elsevier,

Power to Fuel, How to Speed Up a Hydrogen Economy, 2021, Pages 1-15

This book chapter addresses SDG 7 by explaining how hydrogen can help address the transition away from fossil fuel and switch to more renewable energy supported fuels.
Elsevier,

Prevention of Valve Fugitive Emissions in the Oil and Gas Industry, 2021, Pages 37-65

This book chapter advances SDG 7 by explaining that while valves deliver the most emissions in an oil and gas plant, there are steps and methods that can be taken to mitigate and prevent fugitive emissions.
Thanks to fast learning and sustained growth, solar photovoltaics (PV) is today a highly cost-competitive technology, ready to contribute substantially to CO2 emissions mitigation. However, many scenarios assessing global decarbonization pathways, either based on integrated assessment models or partial-equilibrium models, fail to identify the key role that this technology could play, including far lower future PV capacity than that projected by the PV community.

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