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.
In this paper, five most emerging renewable energy sources are analyzed. These emerging renewables are either special or advanced forms of the mainstream energy sources (solar, wind, geothermal, biofuels, biomass, and hydro) or brand new technologies. The five emerging renewable technologies discussed in this paper include marine energy, concentrated solar photovoltaics (CSP), enhanced geothermal energy (EGE), cellulosic ethanol, and artificial photosynthesis.
This paper discusses the CO2 footprint of California's drought during 2012–2014. We show that California drought significantly increased CO2 emissions of the energy sector by around 22 million metric tons, indicating 33% increase in the annual CO2 emissions compared to pre-drought conditions. We argue that CO2 emission of climate extremes deserve more attention, because their cumulative impacts on CO2 emissions are staggering. Most countries, including the United States, do not have a comprehensive a nationwide energy-water plan to minimize their CO2 emissions.
The efficient utilization of clean energy resources to meet increasing electricity demand is imposing the integration of the electricity market and the construction of secure transmission mechanisms around the globe. Accordingly, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is integrating its large geographical power transmission infrastructure via the ASEAN power grid (APG). This study extensively reviews the energy resources (i.e., fossil fuels and renewables), the current utilization, and the future projection for ASEAN.
