INTEGRATED POLICIES FOR ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT - OPTIONS FOR THE UK IN A WORLD CONTEXT

A sustainable global strategy for energy and the environment should be based on two fundamental precepts: the effective harnessing of ambien t energy (that originating from either incident insolation or gravitat ional forces between the Earth and the Moon); the employment of proces ses that ensure the harnessed energy is used efficiently, for example, via CHP plant or fuel cells, and in general through well designed and operated, and usually thermally insulated systems. If present trends persist, the world may experience by the middle of the twenty-first ce ntury severe difficulties in meeting from fossil fuels its requirement s for energy. Thus the UK needs to avoid acting exclusively for the sh ort term, and to devise and soon implement a long-term strategy for en ergy and environmental. This report identifies the constraints on Brit ish energy policy and assesses future prospects for various energy sou rces, including their environmental impacts. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd