ENERGY FOOTPRINT subtracted from the footprint of the producer and added to that of the consumer. The energy footprint shows the largest per person disparity between high and low income countries. This is, in part, because people can eat only a finite amount of food while energy consumption is limited only by consumers’ ability to pay.
generate CO2. Its footprint is calculated as the area required to absorb the CO2 emitted by using the equivalent amount of energy from fossil fuels. The hydropower footprint is the area occupied by dams and their reservoirs. Neither solar nor wind power is included; their current footprint is negligible, and most solar collectors are located on built-up land, which is already counted. National energy footprints are adjusted for the energy contained in traded goods. Energy used to manufacture a product in one country that is consumed in another is
A country’s energy footprint is calculated here as the area required to provide, or absorb the waste from, fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas), fuelwood, nuclear energy, and hydropower. The fossil fuel footprint is calculated here as the area required to sequester the CO2 released when fuels such as coal, oil, or natural gas are burnt, less the amount absorbed by the ocean. Other accounting methods are discussed on page 22. The fuelwood footprint is the area of forest needed to grow it. Nuclear power, about 4 per cent of global energy use, does not
Figure 21: National energy footprint per person, indicating fossil fuel, fuelwood, nuclear, and hydro components in 2001. Note that the world average line reflects average amount consumed, not a sustainable level.
Fig. 22: HUMANITY’S ENERGY FOOTPRINT, 1961–2001
Fig. 21: ENERGY FOOTPRINT PER PERSON, by country, 2001
6 Hydro Nuclear Fuelwood CO2 from fossil fuels
Global hectares
6 5 4
6
Global hectares per person
7
Billion global hectares
8
4
2
0
Figure 23: Per person energy footprints in 2001 show a 14-fold difference between high and low income countries.
Fig. 23: ENERGY FOOTPRINT BY REGION, 2001
8 9 Hydro Nuclear Fuelwood CO2 from fossil fuels
Figure 22: The energy footprint, dominated by fossil fuels, was the fastest growing component of the global Ecological Footprint between 1961 and 2001, increasing by nearly 700 per cent over this period. Although the amount of hydroelectric power is now equivalent to nuclear power production, its footprint is too small to be clearly read on this graph.
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
North America Western Europe Central and Eastern Europe Latin America and the Caribbean Middle East and Central Asia Asia-Pacific Africa
5 4 3 2 1 0
2000
319 390 337 520 334
3 407 Population (millions)
810
3 2
BELIZE
ALBANIA
CHILE
ALGERIA
CUBA
URUGUAY
THAILAND
MONGOLIA
TURKEY
COSTA RICA
AZERBAIJAN
IRAQ
PANAMA
JORDAN
KOREA, DPR
ARGENTINA
SYRIA
LATVIA
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
LEBANON
UZBEKISTAN
SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
MEXICO
MAURITIUS
NEW ZEALAND
MACEDONIA, FYR
JAMAICA
VENEZUELA
IRAN
BULGARIA
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
CROATIA
ROMANIA
BELARUS
MALAYSIA
LITHUANIA
SOUTH AFRICA, REP.
POLAND
KAZAKHSTAN
SLOVAKIA
KOREA, REP.
UKRAINE
HUNGARY
ITALY
LIBYA
TURKMENISTAN
SLOVENIA
PORTUGAL
AUSTRIA
NORWAY
SPAIN
FINLAND
SWEDEN
BELGIUM/LUXEMBOURG
JAPAN
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
DENMARK
NETHERLANDS
CZECH REP.
ESTONIA
GERMANY
CANADA
SAUDI ARABIA
FRANCE
14 LIVING PLANET REPORT 2004
UNITED KINGDOM
GREECE
ISRAEL
SWITZERLAND
IRELAND
AUSTRALIA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
KUWAIT
0
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
1