Sustainable Development: The Crucial Role of Energy in Achieving SDGs

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Sustainable Development
Assignment A
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Abstract
In this study, a brief discussion has been carried out on sustainable development and the role
of energy in attaining the same. The study discussed about the necessity of sustainability for
equal access to all resources by each and every individual. It also identified the main issues,
which are the main barriers in achieving sustainable development and possible solutions to
the mentioned issues have also be provided in this study.
Keywords: Sustainable development, Sustainable energy, Renewable energy sources.
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Introduction
Sustainable development may be defined as satisfying the needs of the present without
endangering the needs of future (Bendell, 2017). This signifies that the resources must be
used in such a manner that it will not affect the future generation. The United Nation Member
States undertook the 2030 Agenda of sustainable development and for the accomplishment of
the agenda; they adopt 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to make the economy
sustainable and beneficial for people and the planet. The present study aims to critically
analyse the role of energy in the Sustainable Development Goals. It will also identify the
main issues, which may arise in accomplishing SDGs, which are relevant to energy. In
addition, possible solutions for overcoming the mentioned issues will also be discussed in this
study.
Role of energy in SDGs
Energy is important for the progress of all Nations. It is not possible for a country to keep
pace with the current trend of industrialisation in other developed countries, without the
adequate source of energy. People who do not have the adequate access to energy sources are
deprived from the opportunities of development. According to Weaver et al., (2017), the
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 addresses the access of affordable and clean energy
for all. The SDG 7 is a systematic action plan proposed to ensure the universal access to
affordable and reliable energy services. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban
Ki-moon, has said that “Energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, social
equity, and environmental sustainability. With access to energy, people can study, go to
university, get a job, start a business and reach their full potential.” Energy is required to
solve almost every problem that the world is facing now days. As opined by Pradhan et al.,
(2017), the expanding access to electricity and clean cooking fuel improves the health. The
invention for modern and clean energy sources will increase the job opportunities as well as
decrease the pollution level.
It not only focuses on saving energy but also on the efficient use of energy that stands for
using less amount of energy for the same work. It emphasises on the intelligent use of
resources so that more can be made out of less. Currently, the energy efficiency improvement
rate is 2.1% which is still below the sustainable energy for all.
The access to energy, energy efficiency, the search for clean fuel and renewable energy
sources also play a major part in achieving other SDGs. Though not explicit, but there is an
implicit role of energy in removing hunger and improving health and nutrition and also it will
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aid to growing food crops. Electricity is required to refrigerate vaccines and medicines,
operations cannot take place without light and sterilization of equipments is equally
necessary. As stated by Omer (2017), modern sources of energy are less polluting, so it
decreases the chances of many diseases. Modern Energy services allow the implementation
of modern technologies in the field of education thus it helps in sustaining education also.
Energy services also reduce the time of involvement in survival activities like gathering
firewood, fetching water, cooking and so on. Due to this, women and girls get more time to
indulge in their education or any way of monetary income. This leads to women
empowerment. Most of the people do not have access to clean water but the use of modern
energy services like water purification and water desalination using solar and wind energy
has put an end to this issue. The invention of solar cook stoves also reduces the need for fire
wood and this way it is contributing in preserving the forest. Thus affordable, renewable and
clean energy sources are a boon for the underprivileged societies more specifically.
Main issues that may arise in achieving the SDGs relevant to energy
The objective of Sustainable development for all is to provide each and every individual with
the opportunity to equally access the affordable, clean and modern energy services. However,
the current studies have identified some issues in acquiring this. Some of those issues are
discussed below:
First, it has been identified that still a large number of people are deprived of electricity, but
there is a need of identifying the proper strategy to deliver them with electricity. There is a
need of progress in increasing the productivity of energy. Few questions that arise here are
who will be responsible in implementation of the required methods to produce reliable and
affordable energy, who will decide that what is the standard of reliance and affordability of
energy for different countries
The second issue is regarding the use of bioenergy, which is one of the major sources of
generating renewable energy sources. Though, commercialisation of bioenergy production
can lead to a hike in global food prices as it will also give rise to a competition between the
agrofuel production and food crops over agricultural land, water and energy.. This will reduce
the access of poor people over affordable food (Müller et al., 2015).
The third issue is in regard to the financial infrastructure, which is not up to the mark and
therefore must be improved. The requisite amount of funds is not being able to get collected.
Only the half of the requisite amount is available. In addition to this, there are some
economical factors like cost saving, capital budget, energy tax, cost for identifying new
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production process etc affects the energy efficiency. On the other hand, if the cost of
transition to a decarbonised energy system buffer, any way it can cause a hike in energy
prices, and then it will add to the problems of improving the standard of living of the poorest
strata (Delponte, 2017).
The fourth issue is regarding the topographical distribution of renewable energy, which is
also a major concern, as all the renewable sources are natural and their distribution is not
equal everywhere (Eleftheriadis, 2015).
The fifth issue is associated with the organisational factors like technical risk, lack of
manager’s influence, top management's commitment etc. that adversely affects the energy
efficiency.
The sixth issue can be mentioned in terms of the research stating that in some regions
progress to deliver affordable energy services is very low, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
Almost 17% of the world population has the access to electricity. However, still a remarkable
population is dependent on traditional energy sources like dung cakes, fire wood and fossil
fuel. The people who are deprived from the energy services are mostly from rural areas
(Mathiesen et al., 2015).
Possible solutions to the issues
This section aims to suggest possible solutions to the above mentioned issues. As a
remarkable number of rural people, especially of Sub-Saharan Africa are still deprived of
energy services, they must be given extra attention while allocating the SDG 7 resources.
There is a need to invest in constructing more hydroelectric energy sources. The use solar
energy can minimize the use of coal, fossil fuel, firewood or any other traditional source of
energy. Therefore, the use of solar energy needs to be carried out in place of such
alternatives.
With the increment in number of people who are having access to electricity and renewable
sources of energy, there is a need to increase the energy production so that more people can
use it. As the SDG 7 is aimed at distributing renewable energy sources such as solar and wind
energy all over the world, thus doing so, the topographical distribution of sources must be
kept in mind. By doing so, efficient utilization of resources and their equal distribution can be
possible. Keeping in mind the poor families, the subsidies can be decided. It will help in
supplying electricity in the electricity-deprived regions. Suitable technology must be adopted
in order to lessen the investment cost for renewable energy sources as it will aid in providing
renewable energy at a very low cost. If the current trend of technological enhancement is
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adopted in renewable energy generation it will be profitable as well as it can meet its own
financial needs and also can help in reducing poverty. Therefore, all the above mentioned
solutions could be effective for addressing the discussed issues.
Conclusion
To conclude, in the above study, the discussion has been made on sustainable development. It
has explained more particularly on the role of energy in sustainable development. It focussed
on the fact that though only the SDG 7 have the explicit role of energy, but all the other
SDGs have an implicit role of energy as energy is the essential element of all achievements
and improvements. The study also identified the main issues that may arise in accomplishing
SDGs that are relevant to energy. Apart from that, possible solutions for overcoming the
mentioned issues have also been discussed in this study. Therefore, the study can be
concluded on a note that use of solar and wind power together with bioenergy can be
extremely beneficial for the generation and utilization of renewable energy sources in the
near future effectively.
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References
Bendell, J., 2017. Terms for endearment: Business, NGOs and sustainable development.
Routledge
Delponte, I., Pittaluga, I. and Schenone, C., 2017. Monitoring and evaluation of sustainable
energy action plan: Practice and perspective. Energy Policy, 100, pp.9-17.
Eleftheriadis, I.M. and Anagnostopoulou, E.G., 2015. Identifying barriers in the diffusion of
renewable energy sources. Energy Policy, 80, pp.153-164.
Mathiesen, B.V., Lund, H., Connolly, D., Wenzel, H., Østergaard, P.A., Möller, B., Nielsen,
S., Ridjan, I., Karnøe, P., Sperling, K. and Hvelplund, F.K., 2015. Smart Energy Systems for
coherent 100% renewable energy and transport solutions. Applied Energy, 145, pp.139-154.
Müller, A., Weigelt, J., Götz, A., Schmidt, O., Alva, I.L., Matuschke, I., Ehling, U. and
Beringer, T., 2015. The role of biomass in the sustainable development goals: A reality check
and governance implications. Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS). IASS
Working paper, pp.1-35.
Omer, A.M., 2017. Sustainable development and environmentally friendly energy
systems. International journal of physical sciences and engineering, 1(1), pp.1-39.
Pradhan, P., Costa, L., Rybski, D., Lucht, W. and Kropp, J.P., 2017. A systematic study of
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) interactions. Earth's Future, 5(11), pp.1169-1179.
Weaver, P., Jansen, L., Van Grootveld, G., Van Spiegel, E. and Vergragt, P.,
2017. Sustainable technology development. Routledge.
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