Sandra Jo Garren
Hofstra University, USA
Title: The sustainability of renewable energy policy around the world
Biography
Biography: Sandra Jo Garren
Abstract
Sustainability is a relatively new field which has been growing since 1987. That is when the United Nation’s published the Brundtland Report which officially defined sustainable development as development that meets the current generation’s needs without compromising future generations. Since then, the field has grown tremendously. Fast forward to 2012 when the United Nations advanced 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) SDG 7 focuses on energy, specifically to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.” Some nations are achieving this SDG; however, there are still more than one billion people without electricity. Fossil fuels could provide modern energy but at the expense of the environment (i.e., air and water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that drives climate change). And currently, renewable energy represents less than 20 percent of the world’s total energy production. This dynamic set up one of the greatest big picture challenges of our time, namely, how to provide modern energy for all while protecting the environment. There are examples of nations that are making progress, but they are still in the minority. For example, both Costa Rica and Iceland source the majority of their energy from hydropower and geothermal. At the sub-national scale, regions and cities are following suite. For example, in 2014 Burlington, Vermont became the first American city to run entirely on renewable electricity. However, challenges remain in the transition to renewable energy. This talk will review the state of renewable energy policy around the world both nationally and sub-nationally and provide case studies of exemplary performance in renewable energy policy.