Sustainable Development and Energy Policies

Abstract

We live in a period characterized by accentuated transition efforts from a fossil fuel–based economy toward a projected economy based on sustainable energy. The development of a global society passed through the fossil fuel era when most primary energy had been obtained by combustion of coal, petroleum, and natural gas. In the present period, there is larger panoply of primary energy sources that include nuclear power and hydroelectricity; in addition, other forms of renewable energy have gained terrain such as wind, solar, biomass combustion, and biofuels for transportation. Therefore, the development of a hydrogen-fuel infrastructure for transportation is projected. Most likely in the future the combustion of fossil fuels will be performed cleanly so that zero emission power generation will be achieved at an attractive cost.