Access to Affordable Energy
Fuel Mix in Power Generation in China and India
Source: World Energy Outlook 2007, China & India Insights
Access to modern energy services is critical to development. The provision of dependable and affordable modern energy, particularly electricity, is essential for improving public health, providing modern information and education services and saving people from subsistence tasks, such as gathering fuel. Ensuring access to affordable energy is not simply a concern for developing countries. Developed countries too face issues relating to energy poverty. All countries have to ensure that affordable supplies of energy are available if they are to achieve economic and social development.
Electricity is one of the most effective and environmentally responsible ways of delivering modern energy. Achieving universal access to electricity remains a huge challenge. 1.6 billion people do not have access to electricity. 2.4 billion rely on primitive biomass fuels such as wood and dung for their cooking and heating. By 2030, 1.4 billion people will still be without electricity. The extensive use of biomass is incompatible with sustainable development.
- The energy needs of a growing population can lead to scarcity of supplies, forcing people – usually women and children – to spend much of the day gathering fuel wood and other forms of biomass from further afield, reducing the time that people can dedicate to more productive activities.
- Collecting wood for fuel leads to deforestation and ecological damage.
- The inefficient use of biomass can lead to respiratory diseases and other serious health effects from indoor smoke pollution.
- The use of biomass energy reduces agricultural productivity because agricultural residues and dung are also widely used as fertilisers.
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were set out by the international community in order to commit to halving poverty in the world’s poorest countries by 2015 (see link at bottom of the page for a list of all goals). Much wider and greater access to energy services is critical in achieving all of the MDGs. By scaling up the availability of affordable and sustainable energy services, there is a greater chance of achieving the MDGs, as energy services have a multiplier effect on health, education, transport, telecommunications, safe water, and sanitation services, as well as on investments in and the productivity of income-generating activities in agriculture, industry, and service sectors.
All sources of energy will need to be utilised if universal access to modern energy is to be achieved. Affordability and accessibility of energy supplies is a critical consideration. In most circumstances, coal is cheaper per energy unit than other fuels. As a result, it has remained the fuel of choice for electricity generation on a global basis – fuelling twice as much electricity as the next largest source.
Demand for Energy
World primary energy demand will continue to rise, largely driven by the increasing energy needs of developing countries. Global demand for energy is expected to grow at a rate of 1.6% a year for the foreseeable future. China and India alone account for 51% of the increase in world energy demand up to 2030. Fossil fuels currently supply around 80% of primary energy (see definition) and this figure is expected to remain largely the same through to 2030.
In recent years, coal use has risen by 4.9% per year, faster than any other fuel. The use of coal is expected to rise by over 60% from 2006 to 2030, with developing countries responsible for 97% of this increase. China and India alone contribute 85% to the increase in demand for coal over this period of time. Most of this is in the power generation sector – coal’s share in global electricity generation is set to increase from 41% to 44% by 2030.
Countries with large, indigenous sources of coal available will continue to use this affordable source of energy to raise electrification levels. In fact, the rapid electrification in South Africa, India and China has been heavily dependent on affordable coal.
China
China turned to its indigenous, abundant reserves of coal to meet demand for energy. Coal has played a vital part in China providing access to electricity to over 450 million people in just 15 years. Utilisation of its coal resource enabled China to double energy output from 1990 to 2005 – coal provided 65% of that increase. China is also now the world’s largest producer of steel, non-ferrous metals, cement and various other materials, which contribute to the construction of a modern manufacturing base and associated technology, communication and service industry infrastructure. As a result, China is the largest consumer of food and raw materials in the world. China generates most of its electricity from coal – currently around 78% - and more than half of China’s electricity demand is in manufacturing. China has demonstrated how coal can be used to pull people out of poverty and propel an entire society toward higher standards of living.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that: “Electrification in China is a remarkable success story…the electrification goal [is] part of its poverty alleviation campaign…the most important lesson for other developing countries [is] that electrified countries reap great benefits, both in terms of economic growth and human welfare…and China stands as an example.”