The Energy Debate

The book at hand ties up the most vital issues of the 21st Century: on onehand environmental degradation and on the other our energy consumptionthat inflicts the former. The emphasis is on developing countries as their energyconsumption per capita is projected to rapidly grow. But what consequencesdoes this bare for the environment if several billion people enjoy thesame standard of living as the reader and myself?The country perspectives of both South Africa and India are taken into considerationas the book is comprised of two individual term papers from theGlobal Studies Program (GSP).For instance currently roughly 40% of India's 1.1 billion population haveaccess to electricity. Already this level of electricity consumption has significantramifications for both the local and global climate. Henceforth theassertion of energy crises seems to be justified not only from the oftendebated constraints from the supply side; moreover the increase in demandin developing countries needs to be considered as well. The author stronglyadvocates access to modern forms of energy for the poor as this is one ofthe key pillars for economic growth and poverty alleviation. Essentially thebook addresses the need for the provision of affordable energy and thisneeds to be accomplished in an environmentally sustainable manner.Thus the book has been written for policy and decision makers the developmentcommunity academia as well as the interested public.