Title: Strategic energy issues: Energy for what purpose?

Authors: Parviz Towfighi

Addresses: United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)

Abstract: The developed world has adopted a pattern of increasing energy use. This pattern aims: to achieve continuing economic growth; to provide comfort and leisure; to increase the mobility of people, goods and services; and to guarantee military security. The result is a depletion of non-renewable sources of energy. One suggested solution is to increase the global use of renewable sources of energy. But only rarely are the above objectives challenged. Are there not limits to be set on growth and military escalation? The solution is not only conservation and the development of renewable energy; the ultimate answer is a revision of the level and pattern of energy use.

Keywords: agriculture; energy policy; industrial energy use; limits of growth; North-South dialogue; renewable energy; residential energy use; commercial energy use; transport; energy consumption; strategic energy issues.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGEI.1991.063663

International Journal of Global Energy Issues, 1991 Vol.3 No.1, pp.14-16

Published online: 18 Jul 2014 *

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