4 Nuclear Energy & Energy Transitions …
119
reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has seen a surge in the efforts
for a global transition to a low-carbon economy by advocating for a shift
from fossil fuels to cleaner sources. However, much focus has always been
on renewable energy.
19
Besides, one of the significant ways through which climate change can
be mitigated is by reducing the amounts of carbon emitted through the
use of clean energy.
20 This is because a lot of pollution is proven to
occur from the use of traditional fossil fuels and from the use of woodbased fuels in many developing countries where there is limited access
to modern fuel means.
21 About 78% of the total global GHG emissions between 1970 and 2010 resulted from CO 2 emissions from fossil
fuel combustion and industrial processes, with the trend continuing for
proceeding years.
22
There is no universally agreed definition of the term ‘clean energy’.
However, it is usually defined descriptively by referring to energy sources
by the level at which they emit pollutant substances to the environment.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for instance defines clean
energy as those resources which meet energy demand needs with less
pollution compared to the conventional fossil-based sources—in essence;
they have a low carbon footprint.
23
19 Ibid., p. 261.
20 See Mark Maslin, Climate: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2013 at p. 120.
21 In fact, about half of the world’s population and 80% of Africans rely on wood-based fuels for
their energy needs. See World Bank, Wood -Based Biomass Energy Development for Sub-Saharan
Africa: Issues and Approaches, at p. 8, 2011, Energy Sector Management Assistance Program
(ESMAP); World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank, https://openknowledge.worldbank.
org/handle/10986/26149, License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
22 IPCC, Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report, 2014, Contribution of Working Groups I,
II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
[Core Writing Team, RK Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 45–
47.
23 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Assessing the Multiple Benefits of Clean Energy:
A Resource for States, 2011, at p. 2, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-06/docume
nts/epa_assessing_benefits_ch1.pdf.
119
reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has seen a surge in the efforts
for a global transition to a low-carbon economy by advocating for a shift
from fossil fuels to cleaner sources. However, much focus has always been
on renewable energy.
19
Besides, one of the significant ways through which climate change can
be mitigated is by reducing the amounts of carbon emitted through the
use of clean energy.
20 This is because a lot of pollution is proven to
occur from the use of traditional fossil fuels and from the use of woodbased fuels in many developing countries where there is limited access
to modern fuel means.
21 About 78% of the total global GHG emissions between 1970 and 2010 resulted from CO 2 emissions from fossil
fuel combustion and industrial processes, with the trend continuing for
proceeding years.
22
There is no universally agreed definition of the term ‘clean energy’.
However, it is usually defined descriptively by referring to energy sources
by the level at which they emit pollutant substances to the environment.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for instance defines clean
energy as those resources which meet energy demand needs with less
pollution compared to the conventional fossil-based sources—in essence;
they have a low carbon footprint.
23
19 Ibid., p. 261.
20 See Mark Maslin, Climate: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2013 at p. 120.
21 In fact, about half of the world’s population and 80% of Africans rely on wood-based fuels for
their energy needs. See World Bank, Wood -Based Biomass Energy Development for Sub-Saharan
Africa: Issues and Approaches, at p. 8, 2011, Energy Sector Management Assistance Program
(ESMAP); World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank, https://openknowledge.worldbank.
org/handle/10986/26149, License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
22 IPCC, Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report, 2014, Contribution of Working Groups I,
II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
[Core Writing Team, RK Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 45–
47.
23 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Assessing the Multiple Benefits of Clean Energy:
A Resource for States, 2011, at p. 2, https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-06/docume
nts/epa_assessing_benefits_ch1.pdf.