ABSTRACT
The challenge of meeting the world’s energy needs while mitigating climate impacts, and adapting to them, has emerged as a priority area in domestic and international policy. There is an urgent need to ensure access to clean and adequate energy to all people in the world, and to enable continued economic development. At the same time there exists a global imperative to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving these twin goals will require both reaching a global compact on emissions’ allocations, and accelerating technological change so as to decouple energy intensity and development. Technology is probably the key to enabling a future where energy service needs, energy security concerns and climate constraints are addressed simultaneously. Through the use of appropriate energy sources and technologies, it is possible to avert the worst consequences of climate change while expanding energy supplies to meet the needs of both developed and developing countries. An increase in the energy effi ciency of end-use technologies, accompanied by a gradual switch to renewables and low-carbon energy sources, is crucial to fulfi lling these dual objectives.
