Version 1
: Received: 24 December 2023 / Approved: 25 December 2023 / Online: 27 December 2023 (05:33:58 CET)
Version 2
: Received: 27 December 2023 / Approved: 28 December 2023 / Online: 28 December 2023 (04:31:59 CET)
Version 3
: Received: 31 January 2024 / Approved: 31 January 2024 / Online: 31 January 2024 (08:10:09 CET)
Halawa, E. Sustainable Energy: Concept and Definition in the Context of the Energy Transition—A Critical Review. Sustainability2024, 16, 1523.
Halawa, E. Sustainable Energy: Concept and Definition in the Context of the Energy Transition—A Critical Review. Sustainability 2024, 16, 1523.
Halawa, E. Sustainable Energy: Concept and Definition in the Context of the Energy Transition—A Critical Review. Sustainability2024, 16, 1523.
Halawa, E. Sustainable Energy: Concept and Definition in the Context of the Energy Transition—A Critical Review. Sustainability 2024, 16, 1523.
Abstract
The term sustainable energy is very familiar to all of us yet its exact definition or meaning has so far been vague. To date the widely adopted definition of sustainable energy has been inspired by the definition of sustainable development formulated more than 30 years ago in the Our Common Future - the UN’s Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. The current definition conceals the true spirit of the Report and this has some ramifications. It raises the question as to whether we have put too much emphasis on attaining the future dimension of sustainability in the middle of the situation where the energy survivability is in fact the real issue in many parts of the world. In this paper the role of energy in sustaining livelihoods of low income communities is discussed. Existing definition of sustainable energy that the whole world seems to have embraced is looked at critically and its downsides exposed. The identified pillars of sustainable energy and the associated issues is discussed and the need for an additional pillar, i.e. affordability is discussed and called for. This paper will argue that global definition of sustainable energy seems inappropriate and should be jettisoned and a more realistic definition should be formulated, adopted and embraced at local (i.e. national or regional) level taking into account local attributes and factors. The current push for a transition from the reliance on conventional energy sources to ‘cleaner’ energy sources (generally associated with renewable energy) has further exacerbated the issue of energy affordability that has made the conditions even more dire for so many groups of the world population. In the midst of this situation, those who push for a rushed energy transition seem to be those who also produce unsustainably high carbon footprint but who can easily offset their carbon foot-print through the ‘net-zero’ concept.
Keywords
Affordability; Climate Change; Energy Efficiency; Energy Justice; Energy Survivability; Energy Transition; Global Warming; Global Boiling; Renewable Energy; Sustainable Development; Sustainable Energy
Subject
Engineering, Energy and Fuel Technology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
