Abstract
Sir Mark has lucidly addressed the growing demand for accessible energy throughout the world, the need for basic provision of energy to one third of the world's population and the con- flicts that arise between the ways in which energy is supplied and used and the constraints of sus- tainability. It is, of course, the innovation, creativity and activity of industry that will provide solutions to the problems we face. It is therefore appropriate and helpful to hear from one of the leaders of the energy industry. The vision he presents is one of a vibrant, innovative, market-driven industry oper- ating within a regulatory framework that gives the maximum flexibility for creative solutions. The greatest challenges faced by the world energy sector are concerned with environmental sustainabil- ity. Because the emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide spread rapidly around the globe, sustainability has to be considered on a global basis and global solutions are required. Inter- national agreements concerning action, for instance the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC), need to be based on sound science and on 4 widely accepted principles, namely the Pre- cautionary Principle, the Polluter Pays Principle and the Principles of Sustainable Development and Equity. The challenge to the FCCC is to devise mechanisms and arrangements that will bring about substantial reductions in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and that also satisfy these principles. A recent Energy Review from the Policy Innovation Unit of the UK Government's Cabinet Office has considered in detail how a sustainable energy strategy can be developed. Finally, reasons are given for optimism that, given the necessary commitment by the world community, a sustainable energy strategy for the world can be developed and realised during the 21st century.
Highlights
I would like, first, to say more about the nature of the regulatory framework and the basis on which it has to be constructed
It has been successful in bringing together a large proportion of the world community of scientists involved in the climate change issue to debate and articulate comprehensive assessments of the basic science, the likely impacts and the adaptation and mitigation options (Houghton 2002)
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC)’s first report in 1990 with its clear statements about the likely impact of human activities on the climate informed discussions at the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro in 1992 that led to agreement by all the participating nations to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC)
Summary
I would like, first, to say more about the nature of the regulatory framework and the basis on which it has to be constructed. The top level of regulatory agreements must be international. The first example of an international regulatory environment agreement was the Montreal Protocol set up in the late 1980s to address the problem of ozone depletion due to emissions of chlorine-containing chemicals such as the CFCs. That agreement has been successful in substantially reducing the production of the relevant chemicals and their release into the atmosphere. That agreement has been successful in substantially reducing the production of the relevant chemicals and their release into the atmosphere Their concentration in the stratosphere (the region of the atmosphere containing ozone) is falling and the loss of atmospheric ozone is beginning to recover, full recovery will take at least a century
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