Energy and Environmental Sustainability: Social and Economic Perspectives

1. Energy and Environmental Sustainability: Social and Economic Perspectives Environmental Change and Sustainable Social Development 2.3 - Integrating Economic, Environmental, and Social Perspectives Stacia J. Harper, BS, MS, ABD Energy Economist, Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy Ohio, USA Karen V. Harper-Dorton, PhD, MSW MA Professor, School of Social Work West Virginia University, West Virginia USA

2. Presentation Agenda • (1) Social and Economic Perspective • (2) Energy and Social Equity • (3) Energy, Environment, Equity

3. Hierarchy of Human Need As societies around the world become more affluent, demand for good and services will increase. As personal consumption increases, so does societal consumption. Energy is critical to meeting demands of vulnerable populations---water, health care, technology, transportation, lighting, and much more. Environmental Sustainability – the production of energy generates 80% of CO2 emissions worldwide

4. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Self-Actualization Esteem Love, Affection, Belonging Safety Needs Physiological Needs • Higher Affluence = Higher Preference • Lower Affluence =Lower Preference

5. Stages of Economic Development Walt W. Rostow, American Economic Historian High Mass Consumption (service economy, leisure) Drive to Maturity (diversification, capital intense ) Take Off (industrialization / mass production) Transitional (external trade, surpluses, specialization) Traditional Society (subsistence, agriculture) • Higher Affluence • = Higher Preference • Lower Affluence • =Lower Preference

6. Energy for a Sustainable FutureUN Secretary-General’s Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change (AGECC)http://www.un.org/wcm/webdav/site/climatechange/shared/Documents/AGECC%20summary%20report[1].pdf Accessible, reliable, and renewable supplies of energy are fundamental to economic development and social equity worldwide. Key Goals: (1) Universal access to modern energy by 2030 (2) Reduce global energy intensity by 40% by 2030

7. Environmental Social Work: What is our role? Humanity, social welfare, economics merge from an historical perspective of global development but lack a prescriptive view for emerging realities of climate change, global warming, and equitable access for affordable energy and equality for those in developing nations throughout the world.

8. Energy poverty is a lack of access to modern energy services. These services are defined as household access to electricity and clean cooking facilities (e.g. fuels and stoves that do not cause air pollution in houses). Modern energy services are crucial to human well-being and to a country’s economic development; and yet globally over 1.3 billion people are without access to electricity and 2.7 billion people are without clean cooking facilities, 84% are in rural areas.

9. Global Warming - Cause for Concern? • Potential Impacts • Agricultural Production/Output mix • Increased frequency in natural disaster event (i.e., monsoon, droughts) • Land use changes • Health • Increased invasive species • Access to fresh water • Temperature changes • Disproportionate Impact on Developing countries • Constrained budgets • State of and availability of technology for adaptation

10. Stages of Economic Growth and Energy Utilization? • Pre-industrial – Underdeveloped or agrarian economy • Manual labor • Low energy use • Low per capita incomes • Industrial – Developing economy • High priority for output expansion • Rapidly expanding development of natural resource • Technologies are characterized by high emissions and low efficiencies • Increasing energy use for production • Rising per capita incomes • Post-Industrial – Developed economy • Economy base converts to service or information based • Energy use stabilizes or falls • Low production/energy intensity • Higher efficiencies • Ability and willingness to enhance environmental quality • Leisure

11. Kuznet Curve • History • 1954 Simon Kuznet, Presidential Address, “Economic Growth and Income Inequality” • As per capita income rises, income inequality will rise to a certain point, and then improve. • 1971 Simon Kuznet Nobel price in economics • Observation of inverted U shaped curve for per capita income and income inequality relationship

12. Environmental Kuznet Curve • Environmental Kuzent Curve (EKS)* • Systematic (national or regional) relationship between income changes and environmental quality aka pollution • Observed concentrations of SO2 actually decreased as incomes rose and consumption increased after a certain point of income was reached. *Grossman and Krueger (1991)

13. Grow First then Clean-Up • Beginning Stages of Industrialization • Pollution in the environmental Kuznets curve grows rapidly because people are more interested in jobs and income than clean air and water. • Communities are too poor to pay for abatement • Environmental regulation is weak • Post Industrialization • Industrial sectors become cleaner, search for greater efficiencies • Growing awareness and concern for environment as greater leisure is achieved • Increased environmental regulations

14. Kuznet, Rostow, Maslow

15. Energy=Input : Electricity=Product • Labor • Coal • Natural Gas • Water • Bio-Mass • Wind • Solar ELECTRICITY IS A PRODUCT— …a DISTRIBUTED SERVICE Lighting Potable Water Heating/Cooling Technologies – Health care, Information,

16. Electricity: Generated, Supplied and Utilized at a Point in Time “Smart Grid is a concept and vision that represents the novel convergence of several different groups of technologies—traditional power sector transmission and distribution technologies, information and communication technologies, advanced power electronics and control devices, sensing and monitoring equipment, and cybersecurity systems—as well as the operational practices that integrate these technologies into unified systems.” Bringing producers and consumers together for sustainable, accessible, equitable energy utilization is a national-level concern in support of global sustainability. http://www.cleanenergyministerial.org/our_work/smart_grid/index.html

17. Network: Integrated Microgridsenergyinformation.org

18. Linking all elements: Carbonmetrics.eu

19. ThankYou!!