Energy
Monday, 23/06/2014, 22:47
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The 20th century witnessed an unprecedented technological progress that improved the quality of life of approximately one third of the global population, mainly in OECD countries, and on an “island of prosperity” in large cities in developing countries.
Such progress was fueled essentially by energy produced from fossil fuels. Close to 3 billion people in non-urban areas in Africa and Asia still rely on fossil fuels for cooking and 1.4 billion people are without access to electricity. Despite some progress to expand energy access, population growth has kept these numbers practically unchanged in the last few decades.
Developing nations' urgent need for more energy has become a central issue this year as developed countries -- including the United States -- push for a global reduction in carbon emissions ahead of a climate change conference scheduled for December in Copenhagen. Many African, Latin American and Asian countries want to avoid legally binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions, blamed for global warming. They say that their emissions are well below those of the developed world and that such limits would hinder their efforts to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, even though economic growth would also inevitably expand the nations' carbon footprints as more of the poor gain access to electricity, air conditioners, refrigerators and cars.
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