Abstract
Energy and environmental data represent fundamental information for the analysis of sustainable development. On the other hand, these aspects should be associated with economic and human dimensions in order to obtain a more holistic vision. From this perspective, some indicators are discussed and analyzed in this paper in order to assess the performance of a country. As regards the energetic aspects, the data of total primary energy supply and exergy losses were considered. The environmental aspects were taken into account by considering the greenhouse gas emissions and the particulate matter emissions. These energy and environmental data were put in relation to the GDP (gross domestic product) and HDI (human development index, a multidimensional index proposed by United Nations), respectively. So, two sets of indicators were introduced—the set E for economic properties and the set H for human aspects. A case study was conducted by analyzing a group of countries that meet two criteria: the same macro-geographical area and comparable numbers of citizens. The European area—in particular, its six most populous countries—was chosen. From the results obtained, it is possible to point out that some countries present different rankings depending on whether set E or set H is considered. Another important aspect discussed is the temporal evolution of the indicators (the interval from 1990 to 2017 was considered). Political decision-makers can be supported by the use of the indicators of set H in order to evaluate well-being related to their choices on actions related to the energy and environment. These indicators can be used both to analyze the trends of a country and to compare them with the performance of some other similar countries.
Highlights
Indicators are quantitative or a qualitative measurements [1], and they represent the main tool usually adopted: To monitor the performance of a country in a certain time interval; To determine priorities and choices for policy-making in relation to available data.Nowadays, moving towards sustainability is becoming a continuous and compulsory requirement [2] to assure human well-being for the present and future generations
These energy and environmental data were put in relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Human Development Index (HDI), respectively
The aim of this paper is to develop some considerations on the current state of sustainability, by introducing an analysis that points out the needs of the human being, in order to show the difficulty of find a unique way to respond quantitatively to a fundamental open problem: does the actual technical and economical state agree with the human equality? This question is crucial, because just human equality is one of the fundamental milestones of the sustainability concept itself
Summary
Indicators are quantitative or a qualitative measurements [1], and they represent the main tool usually adopted:. Nowadays, moving towards sustainability is becoming a continuous and compulsory requirement [2] to assure human well-being for the present and future generations. Sustainability indicators are needed in order to capture quantitative and qualitative information about the underlying asset base, which must be sustained [3]. Despite the fact that the debate on the proper definition of sustainable development still remains alive [4,5], every facet of this complex topic has its roots in long-term human well-being. Sustainability has to be focused on maintaining every key environmental function, and, in a more general socioeconomic view, on maintaining the ability to provide a non-declining well-being over time [6].
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