Chapter / Kapitulua - 1.
(ENGLISH / INGELESEZ) The current energy model is unsustainable and it has been internationally accepted that a transition towards a sustainable energy model is required. There are three main factors which make this energy transition unavoidable. Firstly, according to the Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC, 2015) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the burning of fossil fuels by the energy sector is one of the main factors responsible for global warming. More specifically, the CO2 emissions produced by the anthropogenic burning of fossil fuels and cement production stood at 0.16 GtCO2eq in 1850, yet had soared to 32.28 GtCO2eq by 2015, a rise of 20,175 per cent. Secondly, it has now been officially recognised that, as a result of reaching Peak Oil, a change from our fossil fuels-based energy system has become necessary and this means using renewable energy sources. According to the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO), “[…] world petroleum production will have fallen by 50% by 2030” (Zittel, 2012). Thirdly, the current energy model is one of the main underlying reasons for social injustice in the Global South. Some examples of this injustice are: the emotional impact of petroleum spillages (León et al., 2014), the social impact of new electrical networks in remote areas, (Valer et al., 2014), the impact of petroleum extraction, (Bozigar et al., 2016), the impact of pipe-laying in rural areas (Welford and Yarbrough, 2015) and the energy poverty resulting from the lack of equity in energy distribution (González-Eguino, 2015) (Alvarez, 2017). Similarly, energy poverty has not only increased in the Global South but also in the Global North (in the so-called "Fourth World"). For instance, in the European Union (EU) 10.8% of citizens have had difficulties heating their homes and a similar proportion have had problems paying their electricity and gas bills (Pye and Dobbins, 2015). The United Nations has drawn attention to the environmental and social impact of the consumerist models in Developed Countries (namely the Global North), and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) outline the necessary changes to the current model (UN, 2015). First of all, the 12th Goal underlines the need for a direct change in energy consumption patterns. Secondly, the 7th Goal calls for a reduction in the amount of fossil fuels consumed by the energy system. Finally, the 10th Goal aims to overcome the issue of inequity. Similarly, the Planetary Boundaries (PBs) outline the limited resources available; according to the latest research, current energy consumption stands at between 2 and 6 times sustainable levels (O’Neill et al., 2018). As a result, if both global energy consumption (13,648 Mtoe in 2015) according to International Energy Agency (IEA) and global population (7.36 Billion in 2015, World Bank) figures are taken into consideration, per capita energy consumption should be between 3.6 and 10.8 MWh·cap-1·yr-1. For this reason, in different countries, significant steps have been taken to reduce energy consumption such as
32