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Universal access to energy

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Further information: Rural electrification and Energy poverty and cooking

With responsible planning and management, pathways exist for providing universal access to electricity and clean cooking by 2030 in ways that are consistent with climate goals.[1][2] Off-grid and mini-grid systems based on renewable energy, such as small solar PV installations that generate and store enough electricity for a village, are important solutions for rural areas.[1] Wider access to reliable electricity would lead to less use of kerosene lighting and diesel generators, which are currently common in the developing world.[3]

A high priority in global sustainable development is to reduce the health and environmental problems caused by cooking with biomass, coal, and kerosene.[4] Alternatives include electric stoves, solar cookers, stoves that use clean fuels, and improved cookstoves that burn biomass more efficiently and with less pollution. Depending on location, clean fuels for cooking are typically liquified petroleum gas (LPG), locally-produced biogas, piped natural gas (PNG), or alcohol.[5] Electric induction stoves create less pollution than LPG even when connected to coal power sources, and are sometimes cheaper.[6] The World Health Organization encourages further research into biomass stove technology, as no widely-available biomass stoves meet recommended emissions limits.[7]

Transitioning to cleaner cooking methods is expected to either raise greenhouse gas emissions by a minimal amount or decrease them, even if the replacement fuels are fossil gases. There is evidence that switching to LPG and PNG has a smaller climate effect than the combustion of solid fuels, which emits methane and black carbon.[8] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated in 2018, "The costs of achieving nearly universal access to electricity and clean fuels for cooking and heating are projected to be between 72 and 95 billion USD per year until 2030 with minimal effects on GHG emissions."[9]

Historically, several countries have made rapid economic gains through coal usage, particularly in Asia.[2] However there remains a window of opportunity for many poor countries and regions to "leapfrog" fossil fuel dependency by developing their energy systems based on renewables.[2] Financing for making modern sustainable energy more widely available is expected to come mostly from the private sector, with public funds used to create optimal conditions for low-cost private financing.[3] International knowledge transfer around evolving renewables-based technologies is also critical.[2]





<Window of opportunity and financing>


There is potential for LPG to eventually be replaced by bioLPG,[1] however renewable LPG is currently an immature and expensive technology.(cn) Good management of the transition can help to maximise co-benefits such as local job creation.(sfn|United Nations Environment Programme|2019|pp=46–55)





most of the pathways identified by the IPCC for limiting warming to 1.5°C offer large potential for co-benefits with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include the goal of universal access to modern energy (SDG Goal 7).[10]



Countries that depend on fossil fuel production for revenues and jobs will be faced with the challenge of diversifying their economies.(IPCC SR15 chapter 5, ES)

Resolving the trade-offs with SDGs is expected to require only a small fraction of overall costs of the overall mitigation investments in 1.5°C pathways


https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/chapter-5/

Background

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"there is evidence of synergies between about 85 per cent of the SDG targets and efforts to achieve SDG 7, as well as some evidence of trade-offs between SDG 7 and about 35 per cent of the SDG targets" (sfn|United Nations Environment Programme|2019|pp=46–55)

Finance

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The International Monetary Fund has estimated that if indirect costs such as air pollution and climate change were included, annual fossil fuel subsidies were $5.2 trillion in 2017.[11]

Government policies

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Further information: Politics of climate change and Energy policy

Well-designed government policies that promote energy system transformation can lower greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality simultaneously, and in many cases can also increase energy security.[12] According to the IPCC, both explicit carbon pricing and complementary energy-specific policies are necessary mechanisms to limit global warming to 1.5°C.[13]

Carbon taxes provide a source of revenue that can be used to lower other taxes[14] or to help lower-income households afford higher energy costs.[15] Carbon taxes have encountered strong political pushback in some jurisdictions, whereas energy-specific policies tend to be politically safer.[16] As of 2019, carbon pricing covers about 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions.[17]

Energy-specific programs and regulations have historically been the mainstays of efforts to reduce fossil fuel emissions.[16] Some governments have committed to dates for phasing out coal-fired power plants, ending new fossil fuel exploration, requiring that new passenger vehicles produce zero emissions, and requiring new buildings to be heated by electricity instead of gas.[18] Renewable portfolio standards have been enacted in several countries requiring utilities to increase the percentage of electricity they generate from renewable sources.[19][20]

Governments can accelerate energy system transformation by leading the development of infrastructure such as electrical distribution grids, smart grids and hydrogen pipelines.[21] In transport, appropriate infrastructure and incentives can make travel more efficient and less car-dependent.[12] Urban planning to discourage sprawl can reduce energy use in local transport and buildings while enhancing quality-of-life.[12]

A 2019 United Nations analysis found that a far greater scale and pace of policy reform would be needed to fulfill the climate goals of the Paris Agreement.[10] Governments can make the transition to sustainable energy more politically and socially feasible by ensuring a just transition for workers and regions that depend on the fossil fuel industry to ensure that they have alternative economic opportunities,[22] and by using targeted policies such as tax credits to keep household energy affordable.[23] Greater international cooperation will be required to accelerate innovation and to assist poorer countries in establishing a sustainable path to full energy access.[23]

Parking lot

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In particular, G20 governments would need to make faster progress in phasing out, make carbon pricing more comprehensive and ambitious, and ensuring that financial flows t

Gaps: R&D, freight transport, aviation, industry, building retrofits, materials, phase-out of .

References

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Publications

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  • State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2019 (PDF) (Report). Washington, D.C.: World Bank. June 2019. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1435-8. hdl:10986/29687.
  1. ^ a b c IEA 2020, pp. 167–169.
  2. ^ a b c d United Nations Environment Programme 2019, pp. 46–55.
  3. ^ a b United Nations Development Programme (2016). Delivering Sustainable Energy in a Changing Climate: Strategy Note on Sustainable Energy 2017–2021 (Report). {{cite report}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |authors= (help)
  4. ^ United Nations (2018). "Accelerating SDG 7 Achievement Policy Brief 02: Achieving Universal Access to Clean and Modern Cooking Fuels, Technologies and Services" (PDF). UN.org. Retrieved April 5, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ World Health Organization 2016, pp. 25–26.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Injury Prevention and Environmental Health was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ World Health Organization 2016, p. 88.
  8. ^ World Health Organization 2016, p. 75.
  9. ^ IPCC SR15 2018, SPM.5.1.
  10. ^ a b United Nations Development Programme, 2019 & pp 28–36.
  11. ^ Yeo, Sophie (2019-09-17). "Where climate cash is flowing and why it's not enough". Nature. 573 (7774): 328–331. doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02712-3.
  12. ^ a b c United Nations Development Programme 2019, pp. 39–45.
  13. ^ IPCC SR15 2018, 2.5.2.1.
  14. ^ "Revenue-Neutral Carbon Tax | Canada". UNFCCC. Retrieved 2019-10-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ Carr, Mathew (2018-10-10). "How High Does Carbon Need to Be? Somewhere From $20–$27,000". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2019-10-04.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ a b Plumer, Brad (2018-10-08). "New U.N. Climate Report Says Put a High Price on Carbon". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  17. ^ World Bank, June 2019, p. 12, Box 1
  18. ^ United Nations Development Programme 2019, pp. 28–36.
  19. ^ Ciucci, M. (February 2020). "Renewable Energy". European Parliament. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  20. ^ "State Renewable Portfolio Standards and Goals". National Conference of State Legislators. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  21. ^ International Energy Agency 2021, p. 14–25.
  22. ^ United Nations Development Programme, 2019 & pp 46–55.
  23. ^ a b International Energy Agency 2021, p. 14–18.
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