Counting the Cost of Energy: An Innovative Approach to Sustainable Development

1. Talk at the Workshop on Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) organised by CIWEM-HK, EPD, HKIEIA and HKIP on 18th June, 2005 COUNTING THE COST OF ENERGY - AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT by Ir Otto Poon Member, CIWEM

2. What would happen to earth if the sun disappears?

3. Energy from the sun is the source and the only source of energy for all life forms. Energy flow is the basis of all businesses.

4. Are you as an individual contributing to the sustainability of the community? Does your company? Does Hong Kong to the world?

5. According to the World Commission on Environment and Development, the definition of Sustainable Development (SD) is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need” (Our Common Future, 1987).

6. The SD Strategy as outlined in Rio Agenda 21 is “government’s strategy should build upon and harmonize the various sectoral, economic, social and environmental policies and plans that are operating in the country….. It’s goal should be to ensure social responsible economic development while protecting the resource base and the environment for the benefit of future generations. It should be developed through the widest possible participation”.

7. Since 1987, there have been many different definitions for SD and a most commonly used and illustrative one is “balance on the social, economic and environmental developments” which is often expressed in the following diagram : Economic Social Environment

8. However, most treatments on SD are based on subjective, descriptive, conceptual and qualitative analysis. There are too many intangible considerations and too many pitfalls in the conventional wisdom of economics. Therefore after some thirty years since the term Sustainable Development has been coined, it is still very much a concept instead of quantitative practice.

9. + - Economic + - + - Social Environment

10. Weak Sustainability Sensible Sustainability Strong Sustainability

11. Taking nature into consideration.

12. Source : Financial Times 2005-05-25

13. Swelling cities must think green, UN warns. Source : South China Morning Post, 6 June, 2005

14. Atlas shows how we ruin the Earth. Source : South China Morning Post, 5 June, 2005

15. Source : Financial Times, 12 June, 2005

16. Source : National Geography

17. Source : National Geography

18. Energy in abundance at home Source : National Geography

19. (a) Primary Energy Convert energy input into value Hong Kong Creation of additional wealth Value of goods and services exported (b) Embedded Energy Accumulation of human capital (c) Energy to mitigate (a) and (b) Depletion of natural resources Normalized Energy/Value Flow Chart

20. LEVEL TOOLS EMPLOYED Sustainability Appraisal Economic Entity Energy Flow Analysis Emission Targets CASET SEA Practices SEA District Specific Emission Standards EIA Ordinance Technical Memorandum CBA LCA EIA Project Specific The Sustainability Hierarchy

21. First order estimation on sustainability using energy as a common denominator.

22. Objective, Prescriptive, Substantive and Quantitative

23. I would invite this audience to deliberate and debate on this idea. If it would deserve further investigation, I hope the Hong Kong SAR Government or an academic institution could develop this idea further to see if this theory could be implemented with a reasonable degree of accuracy for Hong Kong and for other countries. If we are successful, we would be doing the world community a great service.

24. THANK YOU.