The growth opportunities of developing countries rely strongly on the availability of cheap energy. Today, cheap energy is often generated by burning coal or other fossil fuels. Hence, economic growth and energy consumption are tightly coupled with the rise of carbon dioxide emissions. The challenge is how developing countries can avoid following the development path of industrialized countries by leapfrogging to cleaner forms of energy production. The political debate frequently points to the role of technology transfer in leapfrogging. Yet not much has been achieved so far. What is the potential for leapfrogging? What are its barriers?
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« CCS is in the same league as fusion power | Main | It all comes down to a price for carbon »
Leapfrogging to a cleaner energy future
Posted on: June 29, 2009 8:54 AM, by Jonas Meckling
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Cleaner energy production via solar or nuclear or cleaner carbon is only part of the leap. More scalable energy consumption is as important. This means things like:
* Developing ecologically integrated cities with greenroofs (e.g. Chicago), big garden commons (e.g. NYC or London or Singapore or Hong Kong), high density, reliable infrastructure, etc;
* Operating dense cities with functioning mass transit instead of sprawling burbs where one needs a car to go to the corner grocery store;
* Crafting bicycle-friendly and pedestrian-savvy cities;
* Using electricity for urban mobility via RoboScooters, Greenwheels on bikes, and systemic electric auto solutions like Better Place;
* Constructing energy-efficient buildings tuned to local conditions;
And so forth. Do all these (and more) and developing countries can leapfrog over all the bad urban planning decisions fueled by cheap oil and un-internalized externalities.
--Joost
Posted by: Joost Paul Bonsen | June 29, 2009 10:30 AM