I provide an overview of the current world-wide energy generation and use, and discuss the challenge of meeting the expectations of rising standards of living in the developing world, as well as the challenge posed by ongoing climate change. I focus in particular on the possible evolution of energy systems in response to these challenges.

1.
A. D.
Pasternak
, Global Energy Futures and Human Development:
A Framework for Analysis
(
2000
),
U.S. Dept. of Energy/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Report UCRL-ID-140773
.
2.
UN DESA report
,
World Population Prospects: the 2015 Revision
(http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/population/2015-report.html).
4.
R.
Jaffe
 et al (
2011
),
Energy Critical Elements: Securing Materials for Emerging Technologies
,
APS Panel on Public Affairs and the Materials Research Society
(https://www.aps.org/policy/reports/popa-reports/upload/elementsreport.pdf).
5.
For example, see
Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) “backgrounder”
paper:
C.
Alessi
&
B.
Xu
(
2015
), at http://www.cfr.org/china/china-africa/p9557
6.
B.K.
Sovacool
(
2016
),
How long will it take? Conceptualizing the temporal dynamics of energy transitions
,
Energy Research & Social Science
13
,
202
15
.
7.
S.
Pacala
&
R.
Socolow
(
2004
),
Stabilization Wedges: Solving the Climate Problem for the Next 50 Years with Current Technologies
,
Science
305
, pp.
968
72
.
8.
R.
Socolow
&
A.
Glaser
(
2009
),
Balancing Risks: Nuclear Energy & Climate Change
,
Daedalus
138
(
4
), pp.
31
44
.
9.
J.
Goodman
(
1997
),
The Long-Term Apartment Resident
,
National Multi-Housing Council Research Notes
.
10.
M.
Fowlie
,
M.
Greenstone
&
C.
Wolfram
(
2015
),
Do Energy Efficiency Investments Deliver? Evidence from the Weatherization Assistance Program
,
E2e Working Paper 020
(http://e2e.haas.berkeley.edu/pdf/workingpapers/WP020.pdf).
This content is only available via PDF.
You do not currently have access to this content.