Page 42 - Banking Finance July 2019

ARTICLE

most significant greenhouse gases are Water Vapor, and Renewable Energy available in nature for our use and
Carbon Dioxide. Water Vapor is not something that is disposal.
produced directly by humans in significant amounts.
However, even slight increases in atmospheric levels of Energy Security:
carbon dioxide (CO ), which is produced due to Fossil Fuel
2 The environmental benefits of renewable energy
combustion by Humans, can cause a substantial increase in
technologies are widely recognised, but the contribution
temperature.
that they can make to energy security is less well known.
Renewable technologies can also enhance energy security
The anthropogenic greenhouse gases including carbon
in electricity generation, heat supply, and transportation.
dioxide (CO ), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N O), water
2 2
vapor (H O) that have the "internal vibration modes" which
2 Access to cheap energy has become essential to the
can absorb and re-radiate infrared radiation, causes of the
functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven
greenhouse effect. Moreover, carbon Dioxide (CO ) is the
2 distribution of fossil fuel supplies among countries, and the
most important of the anthropogenic greenhouse gases as
critical need to widely access energy resources, has led to
it tends to remain in the atmosphere for a very long time
significant vulnerabilities.
(hundreds of years) whereas water vapor can easily
condense or evaporate, depending on local conditions.
Threats to global energy security include political instability
of energy producing countries, manipulation of energy
Water vapor levels therefore tend to adjust quickly to the
supplies, competition over energy sources, attacks on supply
prevailing conditions in such a manner that the energy flows
infrastructure, as well as accidents and natural disasters.
from the Sun and re-radiation from the Earth achieve a
Energy security, therefore, has become fundamental from
balance. However, CO tends to remain fairly constant and
2 many perspectives, and is being therefore increasingly at the
therefore it behaves like a controlling factor, rather than a
centre of legal and policy issues linked to social, economic,
reacting factor. More CO means that the balance occurs
2 and development matters.
only at higher temperatures and higher water vapor levels.
Nonrenewable Energy Vs. Renewable
In recent times, the CO concentration in the atmosphere
2
has increased by about thirty percent, which is an extremely Energy and its benefits:
significant increase. Combustion of Fossil Fuels, for electricity Non renewable energy is energy generated by resources
generation, transportation, and heating, all result in the which take a very long time to replenish and are available
total worldwide emission of about 22 billion tons of carbon in limited amounts in specific locations and can be totally
dioxide into the atmosphere every year. About one third of exhausted due to excessive use. E,g, fossil fuels like
this comes from electricity generation, another one third petroleum products, wood, coal etc. Excessive use of these
from transportation and the rest from all other sources. resources also leads to formation of greenhouse gases which
in turn are instrumental in inducing global warming.
The impact of such emissions lead to global warming and
results in rising seas, melting of the ice caps, melting Renewable energy on the other hand is generally defined
glaciers, changes in rainfall patterns, bleaching of coral reefs as energy that is collected from resources which are
and loss of plankton due to warming seas, widespread naturally replenished such as, sunlight, wind, rain, tides,
vanishing of living beings and vegetation on land and sea waves, biomass and geothermal heat. Renewable energy
and increased likelihood of extreme events resulting in mostly provides energy in four important areas: Electricity
calamities such as flooding, hurricanes and spread of disease generation, air and water heating/cooling, transportation,
etc. and grid connected/rural (off-grid).

The best way to overcome all these ills is to go for other Renewable energy resources exist over wide geographical
natural sources of energy generation and simultaneously areas in contrast to other energy sources like coal,
curtailing the use of fossil fuels like Coal, Petroleum Products petroleum which are concentrated in a limited number of
etc. whose availability as well is restricted. The need of the countries. The benefits from use of renewable energy
hour is to extensively make use of the various resources of include control of environment pollution, air pollution,

42 | 2019 | JULY | BANKING FINANCE