Clean energy is good for the world’s health
The Climate, Energy and Sustainable Development of the Sustainable Development Goals: Needs and Needs a Science Community to Support Measures and Actions
This is where science has a story to tell. Many models have indicated that clean energy may be more costly than fossil fuels and could lead to the poor being priced out of the market and increasing hunger. But the latest research suggests that the picture is more complex. Energy is a linchpin for most of the SDGs, and research that merges climate, energy and the SDGs underscores this1. For example, the agriculture and food-transport sectors still depend on fossil fuels, and that generates pollution that kills millions of people each year. Other links are indirect: lack of access to light at night and to online information — as a result of energy poverty — hampers educational attainment and contributes to both long- and short-term inequality.
The picture for renewable energy is similarly mixed. Despite considerable growth in wind and solar power to generate grid electricity, progress in the heat and transport sectors remains sluggish. Renewable energy’s share of total global energy consumption was just 19.1% in 2020, according to the latest UN tracking report, but one-third of that came from burning resources such as wood.
The study assessed 56 indicators across all 17 SDGs. One proposed intervention is an international climate finance mechanism that would levy fees on carbon emissions that would be redistributed through national programmes to reduce poverty. A second focuses on promoting healthy diets — including reducing the consumption of meat, the production of which requires a lot of water, energy and land. The lower energy and food prices would benefit low-income people.
It’s difficult to translate these models to the real world. To do so, we need leaders who are not bound by outmoded thinking, are aware of the latest science and can draw on the research to build public support for the necessary energy transition. We require more national and international public institutions that are willing to address problems at the system level. And all of this needs a science community that is willing and able to champion knowledge and evidence.
Towards a sustainable South African coal-fired power plant: The COP26 Copenhagen climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, November 2021
When the coal-fired power station first spun up its turbines in 1961, it had twice the capacity of any existing power station in South Africa. Komati has been operating for more than 50 years, but it has been retired due to the cold stacks and lack of coal deliveries.
That arrived at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021, in the form of a partnership between South Africa, European countries, and the US. Together, they made a deal to deliver $8.5 billion in loans and grants to help speed up South Africa’s transition to renewables, and to do so in a socially and economically just way.
There is significant enthusiasm for JETPs when it comes to climate finance, given the stagnant state of global climate finance in general. At COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009, developed countries signed up to a goal of mobilizing $100 billion of climate finance for developing countries per year by 2020. The agreement will lapse in 2025 when none have met the target. The hope is that more funding for clear-cut strategies and commitments will lead to quicker moves toward renewables.
Indonesia has signed an agreement worth $20 billion, while Vietnam and Senegalese have agreements worth $16.1 and $2.75 billion, respectively. Discussions are taking place for a possible agreement for India. Altogether, around $100 billion is on the table.
A new study by the UN Environment Programme says that there is a need for a Science Community to support measures and actions in the climate, energy and sustainable development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The study assessed 56 indicators across all 17 SDGs. It added that an international climate finance mechanism would levy fees on carbon emissions that would be redistributed through national programmes.