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Chapter 20 - Land and Water: Linkages to Bioenergy
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- By Suani T. Coelho, National Reference Center on Biomass, University of São Paulo, Olivia Agbenyega, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Astrid Agostini, Food and Agriculture Organization, Karl-Heinz Erb, Klagenfurt University, Helmut Haberl, Klagenfurt University, Monique Hoogwijk, Ecofys, Rattan Lal, The Ohio State University, Oswaldo Lucon, São Paulo State Environment Agency, Omar Masera, National Autonomous University, Jos É Roberto Moreira, Biomass Users Network, Gunilla Björklund, Uppsala University, Fridolin Krausmann, Klagenfurt University, Siwa Msangi, International Food Policy Research Institute, Christoph Plutzar, Klagenfurt University, Rik Leemans, Wageningen University
- Global Energy Assessment Writing Team
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- Book:
- Global Energy Assessment
- Published online:
- 05 September 2012
- Print publication:
- 27 August 2012, pp 1459-1526
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Summary
Executive Summary
Sustainably managing limited resources, such as productive land areas and available freshwater, will be one of the world's most pressing challenges in the coming years. Population increases and economic growth will significantly influence humanity's future demand for land and water for different uses. In particular, changes in food and energy use will have substantial environmental impacts. They will also influence each other in many ways. At the same time, the production of food and energy, and the water resources they require, will be affected by global climate change. Sustainability issues arising from competition and synergies between future production of bioenergy and food, and related water use, are highly important in this context.
Population growth is one of the factors contributing to increased demand for land and water. While the world's population has approximately doubled since the 1960s, global economic activity has increased approximately 40 fold. Since growth in incomes is strongly correlated with increased consumption of animal-derived food (meat, milk, eggs), the combination of population increases and economic growth will likely result in increased feed and food production. This will drive up pressures on land and water resources if not counteracted by innovations that reduce land and water use. Social inequities are increasing as well, with both very rich and very poor populations often practicing ‘inefficient’ methods of using land and water.
Chapter 7 - Energy Resources and Potentials
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- By Hans-Holger Rogner, International Atomic Energy Agency, Roberto F. Aguilera, Curtin University, Cristina L. Archer, California State University and Stanford University, Ruggero Bertani, Enel Green Power S.p.A., S.C. Bhattacharya, International Energy Initiative, Maurice B. Dusseault, University of Waterloo, Luc Gagnon, HydroQuébec, Helmut Haberl, Klagenfurt University, Monique Hoogwijk, Ecofys, Arthur Johnson, Hydrate Energy International, Mathis L. Rogner, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Horst Wagner, Montan University Leoben, Vladimir Yakushev, Gazprom, Doug J. Arent, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Ian Bryden, University of Edinburgh, Fridolin Krausmann, Klagenfurt University, Peter Odell, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Christoph Schillings, German Aerospace Center, Ali Shafiei, University of Waterloo, Ji Zou, Renmin University
- Global Energy Assessment Writing Team
-
- Book:
- Global Energy Assessment
- Published online:
- 05 September 2012
- Print publication:
- 27 August 2012, pp 425-512
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- Chapter
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Summary
Executive Summary
An energy resource is the first step in the chain that supplies energy services (for a definition of energy services, see Chapter 1). Energy services are largely ignorant of the particular resource that supplies them; however, often the infrastructures, technologies, and fuels along the delivery chain are highly dependent on a particular type of resource. The availability and costs of bringing energy resources to the market place are key determinants to affordable and accessible energy services.
Energy resources pose no inherent limitation to meeting the rapidly growing global energy demand as long as adequate upstream investment is forthcoming – for exhaustible resources in exploration, production technology, and capacity (mining and field development) and, by analogy, for renewables in conversion technologies.
Hydrocarbons and Nuclear
Occurrences of hydrocarbons and fissile materials in the Earth's crust are plentiful – yet they are finite. The extent of the ultimately recoverable oil, natural gas, coal, or uranium is the subject of numerous reviews, yet still the range of values in the literature is large (Table 7.1). For example, the range for conventional oil is between 4900 exajoules (EJ) for reserves to 13,700 EJ (reserves plus resources) – a range that sustains continued debate and controversy. The large range is the result of varying boundaries of what is included in the analysis of a finite stock of an exhaustible resource, e.g., conventional oil only or conventional oil plus unconventional occurrences, such as oil shale, tar sands, and extra-heavy oils.