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.

Developing-developed world partnerships potentially present win-win opportunities for addressing climate-active gas emissions at lower cost whilst propelling developing nations on a lower-carbon trajectory, as carbon emissions, capture and storage are geographically independent. Expanded PES (payment for ecosystem service) principles provides a framework for assessing the transparency and efficacy of partnerships, tested on the model developed by The Converging World (TCW).

Elsevier,

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 70, 1 April 2017

This literature review identifies the impacts of different renewable energy pathways on ecosystems and biodiversity, and the implications of these impacts for transitioning to a Green Economy. While the higher penetration of renewable energy is currently the backbone of Green Economy efforts, an emerging body of literature demonstrates that the renewable energy sector can affect ecosystems and biodiversity.

A number of property companies are going beyond traditional corporate responsibility to be net positive. Instead of opting for sustainability strategies that manage risk and reduce negative impacts, these companies are seeking to put back more into society, the environment and the global economy than they take out. Whilst the breadth and scope of these net positive commitments made by real estate leaders vary, there is enormous opportunity for this sector with sustainability and in supporting SDG 7 and 13.
Looking for the best in innovation
ICIS launches the search for the very best in innovation in the chemical industry. Now in their 14th year, the ICIS Innovation Awards seek to recognize and reward companies and individuals that show high levels of innovation in products and processes, as well as providing benefits to the environment and advancing progress towards sustainability. This award raises awareness of the benefits of innovation to the environment and supports SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.
In the current era of sustainable development, energy planning has become complex due to the involvement of multiple benchmarks like technical, social, economic and environmental. This in turn puts major constraints for decision makers to optimize energy alternatives independently and discretely especially in case of rural communities. In addition, topographical limitations concerning renewable energy systems which are mostly distributed in nature, the energy planning becomes more complicated.
Most conventional scheduling problems use production efficiency, cost and quality as their preeminent optimization objectives. However, because of increasing costs of energy and environmental pollution, “low-carbon scheduling” as a novel scheduling model has received increasing attention from scholars and engineers. This scheduling model focuses on reducing energy consumption and environmental pollution at the workshop level.
LexisNexis Legal & Professional,

LexisNexis France, Lexis360, Collectivités Territoriales, 16 February 2017

In France the goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2050. To support this, there are ambitious targets for the development of photovoltaic energy: 500 MW of new installations per year at a constant rate. Following a consultation with the stakeholders from the photovoltaic sector, a new regulatory framework for solar energy, set out in this detailed practice note, has been implemented which provides two distinct mechanisms depending on the type of installation. Solar energy is critical to SDG 7.2 to increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

Texte en français.
LexisNexis Legal & Professional,

LexisNexis France, Lexis360, Collectivités Territoriales, 13 February 2017

In France, the law on the development of wind farms has undergone major reform over the last few years aimed at easing regulation to remove existing barriers to the transition to a low carbon economy and to simplify financing. This practice note provides detailed guidance on the current regulations, as they apply to existing wind farms and to the development of new wind farms. Wind power is critical to SDG 7.2 to increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

Texte en français.
With Sustainable Development Goal 7, the United Nations has declared its ambition to ensure access to modern energy for all by 2030. Aside from broad appeals to differentiated responsibilities and ‘greener’ technologies, however, the goal leaves significant procedural questions unaddressed. This paper argues that the basic orientation of this approach is problematic, undermining possibilities for progress toward energy justice and equitable development.
Uncertainties in evaluating bioenergy projects have lead policymakers to adopt a restrictive approach or even refuse to evaluate projects when the available information is limited or a clear perception of its benefits and impact is lacking. Indeed, despite its potential advantages, a bioenergy system poses several conceptual and operational challenges for academic as well as practical scrutiny because the inherent relationship and the intersection of areas related to energy production and agricultural activity requires a deeply integrated assessment.

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