Responsible development practices

World energy resources

• Commercial non-renewable: coal, oil, natural gas, uranium. Fossil fuels supply roughly 80 % of world primary energy. Rough reserve lives at present use are about 50 years for oil and gas and over 100 years for coal; the figures change with new discoveries and prices.
• Renewable: hydro (the largest renewable source for electricity), biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, tidal and wave. They supply about 15 % of primary energy, with the share rising.
• Non-commercial: firewood, crop residue and dung, still the main household fuel in many rural areas of developing countries.

Consumption pattern

Energy use per person is high in North America and the Gulf, lower in Europe and Japan (higher efficiency), and low in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Per capita energy as an indicator

Energy use correlates with income, industrial output, transport, health and education; the Human Development Index rises quickly with energy up to a moderate level (a few tens of GJ per person), and gains flatten at high levels.

Problems

Uneven distribution and energy poverty; dependence on imports and price shocks; depletion of fossil fuels; air pollution and climate change from CO₂ (energy causes about two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions); and indoor air pollution from cooking with biomass. Remedies are energy efficiency, renewables, conservation and fair access.

Environment, development and society

The environment provides resources (energy, water, soil, forest) and absorbs wastes. Development uses these to raise income, health and living standards. Society decides how they are shared and who bears the costs. Rapid development without care for the environment causes depletion and pollution, and poor management without development leaves people in poverty, which also damages the environment (e.g. over-cutting forest for fuelwood).

Sustainable development (Brundtland Commission, 1987) is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". It balances three pillars: economy, society and environment.

Approaches to natural resource management

Open-access resources suffer "tragedy of the commons" (overuse because no one owns them). Experience, such as community forestry in Nepal, shows that giving local users clear rights and duties can restore forests. Most countries now prefer co-management, where government, local communities and the private sector share roles.

Comparison summary

No single approach suits all cases; the best results come from clear property rights, local participation, transparent rules and monitoring, together with legal and technical support from the state.