Post 2015: Global Action for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future

supports ecosystem services that provide food,
freshwater, medicines, biomass and unpolluted air,
among other things, which are vital for sustaining
livelihoods and wellbeing. For instance, the genetic
and physiological blueprints of species of flora and
fauna are crucial for the development of crops to
safeguard global food security, and for medical and
technical research (WbGu, 2011). many of these
are public goods, but their importance is often
underestimated (ErD, 2012).
recent projections point to accelerated rates
of extinctions of species, loss of natural habitat,
and changes in the distribution and abundance
of species (leadly et al., 2010). the main causes
of biodiversity loss include changes in land use,
modification of river flow, freshwater pollution
and exploitation of marine resources. climate
change and ocean acidification are becoming
more important. biodiversity illustrates the
interconnectedness of different environmental
resources. Furthermore, the impacts of biodiversity
loss are expected to affect the poorest countries
most profoundly. this underlines the need to
address environment-related challenges at the
global level. It also suggests that environmental
sustainability measures should be embedded in
development policies, since poor people tend to rely
more heavily on their immediate environment for
their livelihood.
6.3.5 Mineral and energy resources
Energy supply plays a key role in economic
development. For instance, the availability of
reliable and inexpensive sources of energy is
crucial for expanding production capabilities and
enhancing industrial competitiveness. moreover,
about 20% of the world’s population (1.3 billion
people) lacks access to electricity, and 2.7 billion
people rely on biomass for cooking – a source of
air pollution that causes respiratory diseases (IEa,
2011). It will be necessary to increase investments
in energy infrastructure in order to ensure an
adequate and sustainable provision of energy, as
well as improved access.
the global demand for primary energy is
projected to grow by a third between 2010 and
2035 (IEa, 2011). However, these forecasts tend
to be quite sensitive to assumptions about energy
efficiency, in addition to underlying demographic
and economic trends. For example, bp (2012)
estimates that primary energy consumption will
grow by nearly 40% between 2010 and 2030, and
the oEcD (2012) argues that the world economy
could require 80% more energy in 2050. these
differences are also partly related to the design of
alternative policy scenarios, which have an impact
on the supply and demand of energy.
Despite these discrepancies, there is some
agreement that at least 90% of this growth will
come from non-oEcD economies (IEa, 2011; bp,
2012). 68 china is expected to account for about
30% of global energy demand, although energy
consumption growth rates will be faster in India,
Indonesia, brazil and the middle East. as regards
energy supply, opEc oil production is expected to
account for more than half of the global total in
2035, while more than 70% of gas will be produced
by non-oEcD countries, such as russia (IEa, 2011).
In terms of its composition, the demand for fossil
fuels – which include oil, coal and natural gas –
will rise and remain the predominant source of
primary energy. the global share of fossil fuels is
expected to either decline slightly – from 81% in
2010 to 75% in 2035 (IEa, 2011) – or to remain at
about 85% (oEcD, 2012). the expected growth of
natural gas is particularly noteworthy, whereas the
dependence on oil and coal is projected to decrease
marginally. nuclear power is expected to grow by
68 between 2010 and 2035, non-oEcD countries are expected to account for 90% of population growth, 70% of economic growth, and 90% of
energy demand growth (IEa, 2011).
poSt-2015: Global actIon For an IncluSIvE anD SuStaInablE FuturE
The impacts of
biodiversity loss
are expected to
affect the poorest
countries most
profoundly. This
underlines the
need to address
environmentrelated
challenges
at the global
level. It also
suggests that
environmental
sustainability
measures should
be embedded
in development
policies, since
poor people
tend to rely
more heavily on
their immediate
environment for
livelihood.
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