Track: Environmental Engineering

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to review the role of energy in sustainable development by ensuring sustainability in electricity generation, supply, and consumption. Global electricity generation remains dominated by fossil fuels
with renewable energy sources contributing a smaller proportion. Sustainable development needs sustainable energy which should be reliable, stable, good quality, affordable non-polluting and socially acceptable. Various measures can be put in place to limit emissions from various sectors. New technology should be developed and exploited for to maximize use of abundant but intermittent renewable sources a sustainable mix with limited non-renewable sources optimized to minimize cost and environmental impact but maintained quality, stability, and flexibility of an electricity supply system. Other measures that can limit emissions include electrification of transport and industrial activities with electricity coming from renewable and low carbon sources. This review recommends the use of the three main strategies to minimize carbon emissions in the energy transition. These are conventional mitigation, negative emissions technologies which capture and sequester carbon emissions and finally technologies which alter the global atmospheric radiative energy budget to stabilize and reduce global average temperature.
Key Words : Energy security; energy transition; energy and electricity sustainability; greenhouse gas
emissions; sustainable electricity; renewable energy