Abstract :
Humanity faces two extraordinary challenges, even more existential in nature than terrorism. These are energy security and climate change. The latter is often blamed on fossil energy use which accounts for over 86% of world´s consumption of modern marketed resources. On the climate change ledger, droughts, floods and wild fires have already impacted many regions. Sea level rise due to melting ice caps has already devoured several islands and entire nations are in peril potentially producing hundreds of millions of climate refugees. To compound matters, nearly three billion of the world´s poorest, nearly 40% of world´s population, have little or no access to modern energy sources, or to resources to acquire them. They rely on traditional biomass energy sources for a subsistence living and bear the brunt of climate change. • Do the solutions proposed for energy security and climate change make complete sense or are we doomed? • Specifically, this presentation will explore the following: • Can the world really do without fossil fuels? If not, how viable will the novel fossil fuel technologies be in reducing CO2 footprint in the long run without causing collateral damage? • Are the so-called “clean”energy sources ready to replace fossil fuels in the foreseeable future? • How clean and safe are the CO2-free energy source options? For example, shouldn´t the Fukushima nuclear disaster cause a pause, is the rush to electric cars well-informed, and how concerned should one be with the toxic compounds utilized in manufacturing solar panels? • What role can energy-use efficiency play in addressing the twin challenges? • Is energy independence a “pipe dream?” • Can the three billion people reliant on traditional energy sources simply emulate the West or do they have to chart their own course? • What role will technology play in addressing the twin challenges?
