U.N. Calls For Global Energy Transformation As Population, Pressure On Resources, Rise

A 251-page report from the United Nations takes a close look at the key forces – energy generation and natural resource management – that will play a critical role in shaping the future of the planet as global population climbs toward nine billion by 2050. The World Economic and Social Survey notes that while hundreds of millions of Asians, Latin Americans and Africans have risen from poverty, the expansion of economic production requires a balance between “respect for the human and natural capital.”  Otherwise, there will be irreversible changes in the ability to sustain progress. Growth and sustainability should not be competing goals, the report warns, but “complementary and mutually supportive imperatives.” The report calls for a global energy transformation using green technologies that not only improve the global food supply but protect its sources.