Sunday, March 2, 2008

The problem of bringing energy to developing countries

In the media we hear that our growing worldwide energy and greenhouse gas emissions are the result of developing countries' new consumption of energy. We hear this about countries such as China and India. This article in the New York Times entitled "Thirsting for Energy in India’s Boomtowns and Beyond" discusses the issues facing India as it tries to modernize its country in the context of scarce energy resources and a greenhouse gas conscious world.

After reading the article my first thought was that all countries, even if they are in the process of escaping third world status, should do so with the most efficient and clean technologies. Then, the article raises the point that "India ...
cannot fritter away energy as the West has done all these years." Reading this sentence made me realize the incredible unfairness of the situation. The excessive consumption, and many times wastefulness, of "developed countries" in the past has created the problem we are experiencing now. Why should other countries have to live in darkness or buy costly new equipment because of the errors of others? This is a complicated issue... and I don't know how to answer the question. Can there be a fair solution?

2 comments:

Aziz Hussaini said...

Maybe when a global cap and trade system is set up, developing countries can have higher caps for their industries for a given period, while industrialized countries have lower caps.

Industrialized countries should also not be required to pass along their knowledge of renewable technologies so that they can be applied by developing countries, without a lengthy trial/testing curve.

Aziz Hussaini said...

Sorry, that was supposed to read:

"Industrialized countries should also be required to pass along their knowledge of renewable technologies so that they can be applied by developing countries, without a lengthy trial/testing curve."