Why is energy a major challenge for tomorrow?

Today, it is impossible to do without energy. It is one of the vital elements that make daily life easier and contribute to our comfort: lighting, heating, cooking and so on. Because it powers every appliance used around the world, energy is considered the foundation of economic activity.

Humanity's energy needs are steadily growing and are mostly met by fossil fuels. Besides being polluting, these resources are running out a little more every day. Their impact, as well as the consequences of their depletion, could be disastrous for the planet.

Poor energy management: the leading cause of environmental damage

Global warming has become alarming over the last decade. This phenomenon is partly due to the unequal distribution of energy around the world. Some countries overuse it while others face shortages; in the poorest countries, energy is almost a luxury.

Damilola Ogunbiyi, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, states that more than 2 billion people have no access to clean cooking and that 759 million have no access to electricity. These populations have to turn to alternatives (such as coal) that harm the environment.

The consequences of climate change

The use of fossil fuels (oil, coal and gas) for human activities, particularly electricity production, has consequences for the environment. These highly polluting fuels release gases and dust into the air, leading to harmful effects such as the greenhouse effect, one of the main drivers of global warming.

According to Damilola Ogunbiyi, the energy sector accounts for two thirds of greenhouse gas emissions. At this rate, the United Nations Environment Programme estimates that global temperatures will rise by 2.7 degrees by the end of the century. The consequences of global warming are already being felt around the world: melting ice, rising sea levels, droughts, floods, desertification and more.

Environmental pollution

A hundred years ago, heating, electricity and running water were still considered a luxury for most of the world's population. That has changed a great deal over the years.

Today, our way of life is one of the main causes of pollution. Industrialisation, cars and other activities seriously harm the quality of water, air and biodiversity. They are also at the root of climate disruption.

Solutions to the depletion of resources

As mentioned above, fossil fuels are the energy sources most widely used in the world. Yet producing them requires large-scale extraction, and these resources are not inexhaustible. At the current rate of overconsumption, gas could run out within 63 years, oil within 54 years, coal within 112 years and uranium within 100 years.

Many organisations now propose alternatives to fossil fuels to preserve the environment and protect the planet. International climate commitments took shape with the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, and the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP) was held in the first two weeks of November 2021. Year after year, states meet to find effective ways to limit the use of fossil fuels.

The gradual phase-out of coal

One of the main goals of COP26 was the phase-out of coal, an initiative supported by António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General. The key challenge is to move the world towards net zero.

The commitment aims to stop using coal as an energy source by 2030 in industrialised countries and by 2040 in emerging countries. It gathered 77 signatories, including 46 countries such as Poland, Vietnam and Chile. Of these signatories, 23 committed to ending coal for the first time.

For its part, the Powering Past Coal Alliance, which aims to phase out coal gradually, sustainably and economically, grew with 7 new countries and 14 institutions. The European Union also announced a new partnership with the governments of South Africa, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States to support South Africa's decarbonisation efforts towards a just energy transition.

Measures to reduce dependence on fossil fuels

Oil and gas were of course also discussed at COP26. According to the representative of Urgewald, nearly 96% of oil and gas producers were planning to expand their assets. He stated that the industry was on a highly dangerous path, as 50% of new projects would use the dirtiest forms of production. In addition, some governments still allow carbon capture and storage as well as other fossil fuel projects.

In response, several governments and international lenders, including EU member states, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, agreed to end support for fossil fuels from 2022. This was one of the biggest commitments made at COP26. If implemented, 18 billion dollars dedicated to fossil fuels would go to renewable energies instead, according to Ms Zhu, a member of Climate Action Network.

She also called on Japan, the Republic of Korea and China to join this movement in order to end the world's dependence on fossil fuels for good, a step towards a more sustainable way of life.

What are the energy challenges of the future?

Using renewable energies, ideally clean ones, is essential to build tomorrow's energy mix.

Among the most widely used and most efficient is hydropower. It converts the mechanical energy of moving water into electricity. Wind power is also very popular for electricity production today.

Solar energy has two uses. The first is to capture the sun's rays to heat water: solar water heaters are already found in many homes.

Solar photovoltaic energy, on the other hand, converts sunlight into electricity. This is done with solar panels, usually installed on roofs, in desert areas or anywhere exposed to the sun.

Bioenergies are also among the energies of tomorrow. They are produced from organic matter of plant origin (biomass), which stores solar energy through photosynthesis. Biofuels such as ethanol, or methane, obtained from this biomass are commonly used in road transport.

Finally, there is geothermal energy. It recovers the heat stored underground to provide heating and to produce electricity with turbines.

What about nuclear energy?

Contrary to what one might think, nuclear energy is not renewable. It uses uranium to generate electricity. Found in rocks, soils and plants, this radioactive element is a finite resource, formed only in stellar events such as supernovae. Mining it is also difficult and costly.

Through the ITER project (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), research is under way to develop a nuclear fusion process. Unlike fission, the technique currently used in nuclear power plants, fusion consists in joining two light atomic nuclei to form a heavier one. According to its supporters, nuclear fusion could be the energy of tomorrow, because it produces little waste and no greenhouse gases.

Energy transition: energy and sustainable development

Sustainable development aims to leave a stable, healthy and peaceful environment to future generations. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are closely linked: reaching one requires taking its relationship with the 16 others into account.

Goal 7 is to ensure access to reliable, sustainable and modern energy services. Progress has already been made towards it: more and more poor countries have access to electricity, energy efficiency keeps improving and renewable energy continues to grow in the electricity sector.

Resource depletion, climate change and their consequences make energy the major challenge of tomorrow. Improving energy efficiency, developing renewable energies on a large scale and regulating carbon emissions are essential to protect the environment. The socio-economic and technological challenges related to energy are considerable and are a major concern for many countries.

To find out more, read our article on what the world would be like without electricity.