<p>Concerns about energy security are both overtly as well as in subtle ways influencing energy decisions for the future. Combined with the recent experience of increased oil prices in the global market and the war in Iraq, most countries that are importing sizeable quantities of oil, and particularly those that have a growing dependence on imports, are now looking at means to bring about a shift in energy production and consumption patterns. To these realities has been added the recent assessment of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), which clearly indicates that not only is climate change a concern for the future, but several of its impacts are also already being observed in various parts of the world. Among some aspects of this assessment is the finding that during the 20th century the average surface temperature increase globally was 0.74°C as compared to 0.6°C in the earlier assessment report. Projections for the future highlight the best estimate at the lower range for the 21st century of a temperature increase of 1.8°C and at the upper end a best estimate of 4.0°C. The most recent of the three Working Group reports focuses on mitigation measures by which emissions of GHGs (greenhouse gases) can be reduced at minimal cost. There are, as assessed, a number of energy efficiency measures that can bring about sizeable reduction in emissions in the short and medium term, but a range of policies would be required to ensure that new technologies are developed and disseminated on a large scale. For the first time, IPCC has also assessed the option of nuclear energy for supply of electricity.</p><p>One of the major messages of the Working Group III Report as part of the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC is the reality of major co-benefits associated with reducing GHG emissions, in which energy security features as an important component. There are, in addition, benefits in terms of reduced local pollution and in the case of transportation, where a shift to public transport would have great relevance, much lower levels of congestion on our roads and highways and the lower cost of highway and road construction and maintenance as a result. All of this suggests that for countries and those involved in arriving at agreements at the international level, it would be useful to deal with the issue of climate change in conjunction with considerations of energy security. This at least could be a major innovation in decision-making at the national level, particularly in oil-importing countries, of which China and India are certainly an important part. Such an approach could lead to a combined strategy that addresses the twin objectives of mitigation of GHG emissions and ensuring a higher level of energy security. It is expected that this debate will enter into the negotiations for the next commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, which would intensify in the coming Conference of the Parties to be held in Bali, Indonesia during December 2007.</p></sec></body></article></article></body></html>

ESI

Energy Security Insights

The Energy and Resources Institute

esi-2-1-commentary

Energy choices: India and beyond

Pachauri

R K

TERI, New Delhi.

42007

2111

<p>Concerns about energy security are both overtly as well as in subtle ways influencing energy decisions for the future. Combined with the recent experience of increased oil prices in the global market and the war in Iraq, most countries that are importing sizeable quantities of oil, and particularly those that have a growing dependence on imports, are now looking at means to bring about a shift in energy production and consumption patterns. To these realities has been added the recent assessment of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), which clearly indicates that not only is climate change a concern for the future, but several of its impacts are also already being observed in various parts of the world. Among some aspects of this assessment is the finding that during the 20th century the average surface temperature increase globally was 0.74°C as compared to 0.6°C in the earlier assessment report. Projections for the future highlight the best estimate at the lower range for the 21st century of a temperature increase of 1.8°C and at the upper end a best estimate of 4.0°C. The most recent of the three Working Group reports focuses on mitigation measures by which emissions of GHGs (greenhouse gases) can be reduced at minimal cost. There are, as assessed, a number of energy efficiency measures that can bring about sizeable reduction in emissions in the short and medium term, but a range of policies would be required to ensure that new technologies are developed and disseminated on a large scale. For the first time, IPCC has also assessed the option of nuclear energy for supply of electricity.</p><p>One of the major messages of the Working Group III Report as part of the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC is the reality of major co-benefits associated with reducing GHG emissions, in which energy security features as an important component. There are, in addition, benefits in terms of reduced local pollution and in the case of transportation, where a shift to public transport would have great relevance, much lower levels of congestion on our roads and highways and the lower cost of highway and road construction and maintenance as a result. All of this suggests that for countries and those involved in arriving at agreements at the international level, it would be useful to deal with the issue of climate change in conjunction with considerations of energy security. This at least could be a major innovation in decision-making at the national level, particularly in oil-importing countries, of which China and India are certainly an important part. Such an approach could lead to a combined strategy that addresses the twin objectives of mitigation of GHG emissions and ensuring a higher level of energy security. It is expected that this debate will enter into the negotiations for the next commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, which would intensify in the coming Conference of the Parties to be held in Bali, Indonesia during December 2007.</p></sec></body></article></article></body></html>