Energy after Rio - Prospects and Challenges - Executive Summary (UNDP, 1997, 38 p.): 4. Sustainable Strategies: 4.5 Conclusions

Energy after Rio - Prospects and Challenges - Executive Summary (UNDP, 1997, 38 p.)

4. Sustainable Strategies

		4.1 Global Energy Scenarios
		4.2 Implications for the Developing World
		4.3 Implications for Energy Exporting Economies
		4.4 Some General Implications of Sustainable Energy Systems
		4.5 Conclusions

4.5 Conclusions

It may be concluded that energy systems can be pursued that are not only compatible with, but are crucial levers for achieving social, economic, environmental and security goals, as expressed in Agenda 21. As such, energy can be an instrument for sustainable development. Such energy systems would be based on a much more efficient use of energy, an increased use of renewable energy sources (in particular modernised biomass, wind energy, and solar electric energy) and a new generation of technologies that make it possible to use both biomass energy and fossil fuels at high efficiency with low adverse impacts on the local, regional and global environments. At present, overall trends are not in this direction and attention must now be turned to an analysis of impediments to sustainable energy futures that are supportive of sustainable development.