4.2.1: Sustainable Energy
In cooperation with other international organizations, develop a plan for renewable energy science. Other Information:
Meeting the world’s energy needs without considerable negative environmental impacts, is one of the major challenges to sustainable
development. Access to reliable and affordable energy is an essential prerequisite for combating poverty, but at present,
more that a third of the world’s population lacks access to even the most basic energy supplies and services. At the same
time, the prodigious use of fossil fuels in industrialized and rapidly developing countries is responsible for an array of
environmental and public health threats, ranging from indoor and large-scale air pollution to global scale climate change.
Alternatives, such as nuclear and hydro power, are available in some countries but these are not without their own inherent
dangers and environmental effects. Vested economic interests and public attitudes to energy sources mean that necessary national
and international policies on energy are difficult to agree. It is widely accepted that the further development of existing
and new scientific knowledge and technologies must be a vital component of any long-term strategy to meet the world’s energy
needs. A recent report from an ad hoc ICSU Working Group (ICSU, 2004b) identified specific interdisciplinary areas where further
research is required. A number of international bodies have conducted energy assessments. Several ICSU Unions have produced
reports from their own disciplinary perspective and the InterAcademy Council has initiated a comprehensive assessment of needs
and opportunities related to sustainable energy systems. In 2001, ICSU partnered with the World Conservation Union to provide
input to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (see ahead 7.1.1) when it considered energy and transport (ICSU, 2002d).
The Commission will again be focussing on energy in 2006-2007, with ICSU again being invited to provide input. As part of
the follow-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, ICSU and the World Conservation Union contributed to the International
Summit for Renewable Energies that was held in Bonn, Germany (2004). One outcome from Bonn was a call for the establishment
of an International Science Panel on Renewable Energy, as a mechanism to promote R&D on renewable energy technologies. The
German government has provided funding to explore this idea further and ICSU has been approached to oversee this effort. SPECIFIC
ACTIONS: • An ad hoc Planning Group will develop a plan for an International Science Panel on Renewable Energy; and • ICSU
will continue to work with international bodies, such as the Commission on Sustainable Development, to identify scientific
needs in relation to energy and ensure that the best scientific information is available to policy makers.
Indicator(s):
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