UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND ENERGY STUDIES

SCHOOL OF LAW

BA LLB(HONS.), ENERGY LAWS

BATCH: 1

SEMESTER-X

ACADEMIC YEAR: 2021-22. SESSION: JAN-MAY

SEMINAR PAPER
ON

ROLE OF ENERGY IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Under the Supervision of Mrs: Aprajita Singh

Submitted by: Akanksha Kohli

Sap Id: 500060476
Roll No: R450271013
INDEX

1. INTRODUCTION

2. INDICATORS OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

3. PROGRESS GOAL IN 2016

4. PROGRESS GOAL IN 2017

5. PROGRESS GOAL IN 2018

6. PROGRESS GOAL IN 2019

7. PROGRESS GOAL IN 2020

8. GLOBAL ENERGY UNDER STRESS

9. PROMOTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

10. BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY

MEASURES

11. SOLUTION TO FINANCE ENERGY INITIATIVES

12. EMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY REDUCTION

13. ENERGY SYSTEM TRANSFORMATION

14. ENERGY CONVERSION

15. GOVERNMENT POLICIES

16. CONCLUSION
Introduction

As a direct result of intense public pressure, the most developed countries now have the most
complex system for managing environmental quality. Consumers openly express their
demands, seek answers, and frequently choose environmentally 1 friendly technologies,
products, or services, thanks to a high level of economic development, modern education
systems, and society's reached level of responsibility and political maturity. As a result of the
developed and effective legislation in the subject of ecology, it can be argued that the systems
in industrialised nations nearly totally support the notion of sustainable development. In
terms of emphasising the importance of ecological appropriateness in all aspects of life and
work, the European Union countries, Scandinavian countries, the United States, Canada, and
Japan are at the forefront.

However, a number of nations with a medium degree of economic development, primarily in

southern and eastern Europe, lag behind in terms of environmental protection in general.
Because the history of these countries' development has not been conducive to the formation
of a healthy economic system, ecology has been relegated to the background. Citizens are
familiar with environmental problems, support the concept of sustainable development, and
occasionally highlight their demands as a result of broad education, but generally poor
environmental conditions do not create a favourable environment for advancement in the
field of ecology in underdeveloped countries.

Non-developed and undeveloped countries with a low level of economic and social
development make up the largest group of countries. They are victims of historical events and
are unable to adequately address their own existential issues, let alone create suitable
legislation and educate their populace on environmental and energy sustainability. It's a
paradox that these countries, which are rich in flora and fauna, as well as energy and mineral
resources, were instances of unspoilt environment where man lived on a low level of
development in our standards. Today, these are the countries where natural resources are used
to their full potential with little or no regard for environmental preservation.

The necessity to harmonise humankind's energy development in accordance with the

potential – natural energy resources – is known as sustainable energy development.
Regardless of the breadth of the difficulties and different scenarios that exist today and will
exist in the future, numerous fundamental ideas of sustainable development have been
defined, as follows:
• The concept of non-exhaustible energy resources includes conservation of both natural and
gained total natural energy resources;
• The concept of non-exhaustible natural energy resources follows from the previous concept
and implies that natural energy resources are held constant, both as a whole and per capita,
and should be especially considered because of constant population growth;

1
World commission on environment and development,1987
The idea of elasticity, which describes the decrease in specific natural energy riches, is both
necessary and unavoidable, and it arises as a logical result of population increase and demand
growth.
Indicators of sustainable energy development

Indicators of sustainable energy development are part of a group of indicators that are
particularly essential, because energy problems constitute a specific strain on the environment
subsystem while also being an important premise of economic development. The study of
indicators connected to energy as a whole is of particular importance in terms of economic
and environmental development.
Development energy indicators2 have the highest particular weight for calculating the overall
degree of achieved sustainable development, which indicates that little changes in an
indicator's status can cause huge changes in the final conclusion. The need of regular value
monitoring of these indicators for precise evaluation of realized sustainable development
cannot be overstated. All other control actions require a correct and accurate evaluation of
energy-related indicators.
The first aim is to identify the set of indicators 3 that can be considered the most appropriate at
a time when GDP, as a traditional development indicator, has begun to lose its relevance. In
order to achieve a particular GDP, a country must deplete a certain number of resources and,
in the process, produce pollution, which was previously unmeasured.
Only by developing and testing a new set of indicators and comparing the results achieved
using GDP to the findings acquired using other indicators can development indicators based
on GDP be gradually eliminated.

Progress of goal in 2016

From eradicating poverty through breakthroughs in health, education, water supply, and
industrialization to tackling climate change, energy is critical to accomplishing practically all
of the Sustainable Development Goals.
From 79 percent in 2000 to 85 percent in 2012, the percentage of the world's population with
access to electricity has continuously climbed. Despite this, 1.1 billion people do not have
access to this essential service. Recent global development in this area has been mostly
driven by Asia, where access is growing at a rate that is more than twice that of population
growth. Since 2010, 80% of individuals who have gained access to electricity have been
urban inhabitants.

Although there has been modest development since 2010, cooking technology has increased
from 51% in 2000 to 58 percent in 2014. However, the total number of people who rely on
polluting fuels and technology for cooking, such as solid fuels and kerosene, has risen to
2
Indicators are useful for monitoring progress towards specific country goals. For example, to reach an annual
limit on a set of emissions from the energy sector, it would be sensible to identify the values of appropriate
indicators that would be necessary to meet this goal.

3
IAEA/IEA,2001
almost three billion people. Since 2010, there has been little development, which falls well
short of global population growth and is virtually entirely confined to urban areas. Renewable
energy (hydropower, solid and liquid biofuels, wind, sun, biogas, geothermal and marine
sources, and waste) has gradually grown its percentage of total final energy consumption,
from 17.4 percent in 2000 to 18.1 percent in 2012. More telling is the fact that modern
renewable energy consumption expanded at a pace of 4% per year between 2010 and 2012,
accounting for 60% of all new power-generating capacity in 2014. This excludes solid
biofuels used for conventional purposes. In absolute terms, developing regions, mostly
Eastern Asia, accounted for nearly 72% of the increase in energy consumption from modern
renewable sources between 2010 and 2012. Hydropower, wind, and solar energy have made
the most significant contributions, accounting for 73 percent of the entire increase in modern
renewable energy between 2010 and 2012.

The energy intensity of a unit of economic output is determined by dividing total primary
energy supply by GDP. Between 2010 and 2012, the global energy intensity declined by
1.7% each year. This is a significant increase over the period from 1990 to 2010, when it fell
by 1.2 percent every year. As a result, global energy intensity declined from 6.7 millijoules
(mJ) per 2011 US dollar PPP in 2000 to 5.7 millijoules (mJ) in 2012.

A component4 was the percentage of global energy use covered by obligatory energy
efficiency regulation, which has nearly doubled in the last decade, from 14% in 2005 to 27%
in 2014. Even still, present progress is just around two-thirds of what is required to double the
global rate of energy efficiency improvement. Industry was the most significant contributor
to lower energy intensity among end-use sectors, followed by transportation. Between 2010
and 2012, emerging regions accounted for almost 68 percent of energy intensity reductions,
with Eastern Asia being the major contributor.

Progress of goal 2017

Progress in every aspect of sustainable energy 5is falling short of what is required to ensure
universal energy access and satisfy renewable energy and energy efficiency targets.
Significant progress will necessitate increased funding and stronger legislative commitments,
as well as countries' willingness to embrace new technology on a far larger scale. In 2014,
85.3 percent of the world's population had access to electricity, a 0.3 percentage point gain
over 2012. This means that 1.06 billion people, mostly in rural areas, are still without
electricity. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to half of these people.

Over 3 billion people, the bulk of whom live in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, continue to
cook without access to clean fuels or more efficient technologies.
From 2012 to 2014, the share of renewable energy in final energy consumption increased
slightly, from 17.9% to 18.3%. The majority of the increase came from renewable energy

4
IEA,2004
5
EEA,2004
sources such as water, solar, and wind. Despite their fast increase in recent years, solar and
wind power still account for a small percentage of total energy use. The goal is to increase the
share of renewable energy in the thermal and transportation sectors, which together consume
80% of global energy. Three-quarters of the world's 20 major energy consumers lowered
their use between 2012 and 2014. Greater efficiencies in the industry and transportation
sectors were primarily responsible for the decline. However, this progress is insufficient to
reach the goal of doubling the global rate of energy efficiency improvement.

Progress of goal 2018

Between 2000 and 2016, the percentage of the global population with access to electricity
climbed from 78 to 87 percent, with the absolute number of people without power falling to
just under 1 billion. Clean cooking fuels and technology have gradually increased, with
global access at 59 percent in 2016, up ten percentage points since 2000. Despite this
development, 3 billion people continue to cook using harmful fuels and stoves. High user
costs for many cleaner cooking options, inadequate infrastructure, a lack of consumer
understanding of the benefits of clean cooking, and limited finance for manufacturers wishing
to enter the clean fuel and stove industries are all major impediments to wider access.
Renewable energy consumption surged to 17.5 percent in 2015, up from 17.3 percent in
2014, as renewable energy consumption grew faster than overall energy consumption.
Bioenergy and the continuous expansion of wind and solar energy, driven by dropping costs
and legislative support, accounted for the majority of the rise.
In 2015, global energy intensity fell by 2.8% from 2014, more than doubling the rate of
improvement experienced from 1990 to 2010. To meet the Sustainable Development Goals,
global energy intensity must increase at a 2.7 percent annual rate from 2016 to 2030,
demanding a major increase in global policy ambition to keep the momentum going.

Progress of goal 2019

The global electrification rate increased from 83 percent in 2010 to 87 percent in 2015, and
the trend continued in 2016, with 89 percent electrification in 2017. However, 840 million
people worldwide still do not have access to power. In 2017, 61 percent of the world's
population had access to clean cooking fuels and technologies, up from 57 percent in 2010.
Despite this advancement, about 3 billion people continue to cook with inefficient and
polluting equipment. Renewable energy's percentage of total final energy consumption
climbed progressively from 16.6% in 2010 to 17.5 percent in 2016, though considerably
faster progress is needed to satisfy climate targets. Despite the fact that renewable energy
consumption has increased by more than 18% since 2010, it has only been since 2012 that
renewables have overtaken total energy consumption. Global primary energy intensity
(energy consumed per unit of GDP) improved by 2.3 percent from 2010 to 2016, falling short
of the 2.7 percent yearly rate required to meet target 3 of Sustainable Development Goal 7.
In 2016, international financial flows to developing nations in support of clean and renewable
energy totaled $18.6 billion, nearly tripling the previous year's $9.9 billion.
Progress of goal 2020

By 2018, the global electrification rate had increased from 83 percent in 2010 to 90 percent.
Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Eastern and South-East Asia, made significant
progress, with 98 percent access achieved by 2018. In contrast, the global deficit is becoming
increasingly concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 548 million people, or 53% of the
population, lack access to electricity.
In 2018, 63 percent of people have access to clean cooking fuels and technologies, up from
60 percent in 2015 and 56 percent in 2010. Despite this, 2.8 billion people lack access to
clean water and rely on inefficient and polluting cooking technologies. In Sub-Saharan
Africa, the number of individuals without access to clean cooking fuels grew as a result of a
stagnant rate and rapid population expansion.
Renewable energy consumption as a percentage of total final energy consumption climbed
progressively from 16.3 percent in 2010 to 17.0 percent in 2015 and 17.3 percent in 2017. To
accomplish long-term climate targets, faster growth is required.
Global primary energy intensity (energy used per unit of GDP) increased at 2.2 percent each
year from 2015 to 2017, falling short of the 2.7 percent yearly rate required to meet the SDG
target of 7.3. International funding transfers to developing nations in favor of clean and
renewable energy were $21.4 billion in 2017, up 13% from 2016 and more than doubling
from 2010 levels. Hydropower projects garnered 46 percent of 2017 flows, compared to 19
percent for solar, 7 percent for wind, and 6 percent for geothermal.

Global energy under stress

By 2040, global energy demand is expected to rise by 37% (International Energy Agency
(2014): World Energy Outlook 2014). The majority of this increase will come from Asian
countries, where strong economic and demographic development are driving energy
consumption. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) 6 in its World Energy
Outlook 2014 report, "the global energy system is in danger of falling short of the hopes and
expectations placed upon it," because global energy consumption is predominantly based on
oil. The majority of the world's energy resources are concentrated in only a few places. As a
result, developments in these regions' politics and economies have a significant impact on the
global energy system. Since the 1930s, the Middle East has emerged as the world's leading
source of low-cost oil, and Russia controls some of the world's largest oil and gas reserves.
Recent occurrences in these politically dangerous locations have revived concerns about
energy security around the world. Furthermore, the future of nuclear energy, which was
predicted to swiftly rise as the dominant source of electricity in the 1970s, is uncertain. High

6
IEA,2004
capital expenditures and increased safety regulations, notably in the aftermath of multiple
nuclear disasters (e.g., Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima), slowed the rapid
expansion of this form of energy. The global energy system would be considerably more
stressed if gains in energy efficiency and cost development of new energy technologies such
as photovoltaics were not made. As a result, global trends toward decentralized low-carbon
energy are shifting.

Promoting energy efficiency

Energy efficiency, according to the IEA, is "a vital tool for relieving strain on energy supply."
To meet the task of boosting energy efficiency, new approaches will be necessary, including
a complex combination of research and development, public and private investments in
energy infrastructure, new legislation, and urban design. International and national policies
will continue to be critical in promoting more efficient energy use. Market-based techniques,
on the other hand, can be a useful tool for guiding private decisions in the proper direction.
All economic agents' operations - individuals, businesses, and governments – necessitate the
use of energy. As a result, market processes and new business models play an important role
in achieving energy efficiency gains.

"Around 40% of the greenhouse gas reduction potential that can be accomplished at a lower
cost can be realized through energy efficiency."

"Energy efficiency represents around 40% of the greenhouse gas reduction potential that can
be realized at a cost of less than EUR 60 per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent,"
according to "Pathways to a Low-Carbon Economy: Version 2 of the Global Greenhouse Gas
Abatement Cost Curve," at globalghgcostcurve.bymckinsey.com." Energy efficiency
investments are expected to be worth between USD 310 and 360 billion in 2012, indicating a
large and expanding market potential for investors and businesses. In 2011, energy efficiency
savings exceeded total final consumption from any single fuel source. Energy efficiency
represents a huge low-cost energy resource – but only if new business models can be
developed to fully realize its promise. Public organizations and commercial businesses
continue to undervalue energy efficiency.

Barriers to implementing energy efficiency measures

Lack of experience and information: A lack of expertise and information frequently prevents
energy efficiency improvements from being implemented. Non-experts find it difficult to
comprehend the great potential of such measures due to a lack of information and their highly
technical nature. Poorly synthesised information on financial solutions is a major source of
information barriers. Because of these communication gaps, industrial enterprises are
unaware of the enormous financial benefits that energy saving projects may provide.

Energy efficiency projects are given low attention because they are virtually invariably
outside the core expertise of most organisations. As a result, while defining annual budgets,
the company's key business activities are prioritised. Many organisations prefer other internal
investments that generate shorter-term revenues – even if they have comparable extended pay
pack periods ( 3 years). Size of energy-saving projects: In comparison to other investments,
energy-saving initiatives are comparatively minor. As a result, energy efficiency
improvements in industrial facilities, as well as residential and public buildings, are linked
with significant transaction costs, and corporations prefer to fund projects that are more
replicable.

Access to capital: According to Prognose (2009): Rolle und Bedeutung von Energieeffizienz
und Energiedienstleistungen in KMU, access to capital is the most significant barrier to the
adoption of energy efficient technologies. Retrofitting your home to be more energy efficient
sometimes necessitates a large initial investment. As previously stated, a company's budget
favours core business activities and short-term projects with quick returns (despite lesser
long-term savings potential) over energy efficiency improvements.
Furthermore, there are just a few financial solutions that can be used to fund the development
of energy efficiency performance. Energy efficiency measures are now predominantly
financed through contracting solutions by Energy Service Companies (ESCOs). However,
since the financial crisis, ESCOs have been unable – and unwilling – to meet their consumers'
financial needs. Leasing companies offer an alternate financing option, however they are
simply asset-based financing solutions.

Solution to finance energy efficiency initiatives

Many countries' policies are increasingly focusing on energy efficiency, with energy
efficiency targets and policy measures ranging from subsidies to mandates being developed.
For example, the European Union has set a contractual objective of 20% energy savings in
EU member states by 2020. However, achieving these energy efficiency goals remains a
considerable problem, with many countries falling far behind. To fulfil the EU-wide aim, an
annual investment of almost EUR 100 billion is required. Given the health of the public
finances and the current rate of economic development, private investors are encouraged to
help close the gap. Traditional institutional investors in OECD nations, such as pension funds
and insurance firms, manage about EUR 65 trillion in assets and must achieve an annual
return of 3-4 percent (OECD) estimates and statistics from the Global Pensions Statistics and
Institutional Investors databases). Investors are increasingly under pressure to find
alternatives to their fixed-income allocations in Europe, where government bond returns are
below 2%. Energy efficiency projects can be an appealing investment opportunity for these
investors since they generate consistent and predictable cost savings. Energy efficiency
initiatives that are not financed from the energy saver's internal resources and are attractive
for external financing typically have payback times of 3 to 7 years. However, in many
situations, the initiatives are too modest and intricate to be funded directly. The investments
and returns must be aggregated and bundled into investment vehicles in order to provide
attractive returns for institutional investors. By putting energy efficiency initiatives into a
fund structure, you can save money. It is possible to provide an appealing investment
opportunity for institutional investors. Through diversification, an energy efficiency fund
provides investors with an adequate investment amount while decreasing risks and enhancing
cash flow stability. Energy efficiency initiatives also have a low association with financial
markets and have a good environmental impact 7by lowering CO2 emissions.

Investors, as well as industrial customers and technology providers, may be interested in a

specialised energy efficiency fund. Companies can pre-define finance and contractual terms
by collaborating on energy efficiency projects with a fund. This allows projects to be scaled
up to huge portfolios of manufacturing plants, lowering transaction costs and complexity for
all parties involved. Furthermore, such collaboration allows performance contracts to be
adapted to the demands of customers (e.g. off balance sheet treatment). A cooperative
approach provides the foundation for fully realising energy efficiency's full potential,
significantly lowering industrial or public customers' energy bills in the short term without
putting their performance at risk or requiring the customers' own capital to be deployed,
making energy efficiency both economically and environmentally beneficial.

Energy efficiency investments not only provide financial returns to investors, private and
public owners, and asset operators; they also provide public benefits in the form of reduced
greenhouse gas emissions, increased employment, reduced reliance on foreign energy
imports, and improved fiscal balance in a country or community. As a result of their strong
ties with sustainable development in all of its dimensions – economic, environmental, and
social – energy efficiency investments address six of the SDGs (Goals 8, 9, 11, 13, 16, and
17).

Employment and Poverty Reduction

Energy-efficient techniques have resulted in the establishment of jobs, allowing people to

earn a steady income. Local people become more empowered to meet their fundamental
requirements as they accumulate more disposable income, resulting in poverty alleviation.
According to Srivastava and Rehman (2006), India, a South Asian country with a population
of over 1000 million people, has 43.5 percent of its families with electricity. As a result, the
government devised sustainable energy technologies and strategies to further strengthen
agricultural production, health facilities, water infrastructure, and environmental outlook, as
well as providing local societies with electricity that allows them to live better lives. As
mentioned by Bose et al., the government and other stakeholders in India value the
importance of power.
According to The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) 8, the Illumination a Billion Lives
(LABL) effort involves supplying solar energy equipment to huge populations in rural
regions since it is clean, renewable, and improves lighting. This project has also been linked
to the promotion of children's education. young generation by providing appropriate night
study facilities and by providing employment chances to indigenous people, such activities
are assured of robust financial control systems that may be used to maintain future program.
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8
ENERGY RESOURCES INSTITUTE
The Indian nation has adopted efficient use of selected fuels that reduce greenhouse gas
emissions for the reasons stated. According to D’s and Murthy (2004), surveys in India chose
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) over kerosene energy sources because of reduced pollution,
which ensures people's well-being, high energy efficiency, reduced deforestation, lower
market prices, and a reputable arrangement of marketing and distribution networks available.
Supporting LPG Schemes in Rural Areas (McDade, 2004) demonstrates that the LP Gas
Rural Energy Challenge project, sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) and the World LP Gas Association, applies to rural areas of mostly third-world
countries, with the goal of reducing energy constraints such as poor electricity. Reduce
preterm births and severe afflictions on pregnant women carrying loads of firewood, as well
as reducing the number of women raped and infected with the HIV/AIDS virus while
collecting fuel wood. In India, bioenergy use has been boosted by the substitution of non-
renewable fuels like kerosene.

Energy Conversion

Many sustainable energy initiatives include energy efficiency, which entails using less energy
to deliver the same goods or services, or delivering comparable services with fewer
commodities. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), increasing energy
efficiency might result in 40% of the greenhouse gas emission reductions required to meet the
Paris Agreement's goals.

Increase the technological efficiency of appliances, transportation, industrial operations, and

structures to save energy. Another strategy is to utilize less materials that need a lot of energy
to manufacture, such as through improved building design and recycling. Another option to
save energy is to adjust one's behavior, such as using videoconferencing instead of business
flights or taking urban visits by cycling, walking, or public transportation rather than driving.
Government programmed aimed at increasing efficiency can help. Building codes,
performance requirements, carbon pricing, and the creation of energy-efficient infrastructure
are all examples of ways to encourage people to shift their means of transportation.

The global economy's energy intensity (the amount of energy spent per unit of gross domestic
product (GDP)) is an approximate estimate of economic production's energy efficiency. In
2010, the worldwide energy intensity per US dollar of GDP was 5.6 megajoules (1.6 kWh).
Between 2010 and 2030, the United Nations' plans call for a 2.6 percent reduction in energy
intensity every year. This goal has not been met in recent years. For example, energy
intensity reduced by only 1.1 percent from 2017 and 2018. Consumers frequently use the
money they save to buy more energy-intensive goods and services as a result of efficiency
improvements. Recent technological advancements in transportation and construction, for
example, have been substantially countered by changes in consumer behavior, such as the
purchase of larger automobiles and residences.
Energy System Transformation

To keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, carbon reductions will necessitate a
system-wide revolution of how energy is produced, delivered, stored, and used. Multiple
technologies and behaviors in the energy system must alter for a civilization to replace one
form of energy with another. For example, switching from oil to solar as a car's energy source
necessitates solar energy generation, electrical grid modifications to accommodate
fluctuations in solar panel output and higher overall demand, adoption of electric cars, and
networks of electric vehicle charging stations and repair shops.

Many climate change mitigation strategies anticipate a low-carbon energy system with three
basic components:

Electrification — the greater use of low-emission energy sources to generate power instead of
directly burning fossil fuels, use electricity Adoption of energy efficiency measures at a faster
pace
Aviation, shipping, and steelmaking are examples of energy-intensive technologies and
processes that are difficult to electrify. There are a number of options for lowering emissions
from these industries: Many vehicles built to burn fossil fuels can be powered by biofuels and
synthetic carbon-neutral fuels; however, biofuels cannot be produced in the numbers required
in a sustainable manner, and synthetic fuels are currently highly expensive. For some
applications, developing a system based on sustainably produced hydrogen fuel is the most
prominent alternative to electrification.

Energy Conservation

Many sustainable energy initiatives include energy efficiency, which entails using less energy
to deliver the same goods or services, or delivering comparable services with fewer
commodities. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), increasing energy
efficiency might result in 40% of the greenhouse gas emission reductions required to meet the
Paris Agreement's goals.
Increase the technological efficiency of appliances, transportation, industrial operations, and
structures to save energy. Another option is to use less materials that take a lot of energy to
produce, for example, by improving building design and recycling. Another option to save
energy is to adjust one's behavior, such as using videoconferencing instead of business flights
or taking urban visits by cycling, walking, or public transportation rather than driving.
Government programs aimed at increasing efficiency can help. Building codes, performance
requirements, carbon pricing, and the construction of energy-efficient infrastructure can all be
used to encourage people to shift their means of transportation.
The global economy's energy intensity (the amount of energy spent per unit of gross domestic
product (GDP)) is an approximate estimate of economic production's energy efficiency. In
2010, the worldwide energy intensity per US dollar of GDP was 5.6 megajoules (1.6 kWh).
Between 2010 and 2030, the United Nations' plans call for a 2.6 percent reduction in energy
intensity every year.   This goal has not been met in recent years. For example, energy
intensity reduced by only 1.1 percent from 2017 and 2018.  Consumers frequently use the
money they save to buy more energy-intensive goods as a result of efficiency improvements.
More energy-intensive items and services should be purchased. [43] Consumer behavior
patterns, such as choosing larger vehicles and homes, have substantially countered recent
technical efficiency increases in transportation and buildings.

Government Policies

Government policies that support energy system transformation can simultaneously reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and enhance air quality, as well as increase energy security and
reduce the cost of energy consumption in many circumstances. Since the 1970s,
environmental rules have been utilized to encourage more sustainable energy consumption.
Some countries have set deadlines for coal-fired power plant closures and the termination of
new fossil-fuel exploration. Governments can mandate that new cars emit no emissions or
that new buildings be heated with electricity rather than gas.  In numerous nations, renewable
portfolio requirements compel utilities to raise the percentage of electricity generated from
renewable sources. Governments may hasten the transition of the energy system by
spearheading the development of infrastructure like long-distance electrical transmission
lines and smart grids.
Hydrogen pipelines and smart grids   in other circumstances, separating government from
fossil fuel investments might help policymakers execute policies that support sustainable
energy usage and production with less delay, transparency, and speed. Appropriate
infrastructure and incentives in transportation can make trips more efficient and reduce
reliance on automobiles.   Planning that inhibits sprawl can reduce energy use in local
transportation and buildings while also improving quality of life.  Historically, government-
funded research, procurement, and incentive policies have been crucial in the development
and maturation of renewable energy technologies like solar and lithium batteries.  Public
financing is quickly mobilized under the IEA's scenario for a net zero-emission energy
system by 2050 to bring a variety of newer technologies to the demonstration phase and boost
deployment.

Conclusion

Energy efficiency plays a critical role in the long-term liberation of institutions and countries.
It's become critical to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources since they've been
connected to major reductions in carbon emissions, mitigation of climate change, and solving
many of the problems related with energy poverty. However, it must be highlighted that the
usage of non-exhaustible energy sources can only be long-term if they are utilized in ways
that do not harm current ecosystems. Thus, even when renewable energy sources are used,
ineffective energy policies and inefficient energy technology contribute to unsustainability. In
addition, establishing energy reward systems, enhancing environmental quality, and
establishing green buildings are all key energy efficient strategies for boosting residential
area sustainability. Green housing, energy-saving house appliances, renewable energy utility,
and increased public awareness about energy issues are all things that need to be addressed.
On that basis, a sustainable future is only possible when sound energy consumption
mechanisms have been designed, implemented, and appropriately equipped with clear
monitoring and regulatory frameworks.