Energy for a Shared Development Agenda: Global Scenarios and Governance Implications

The document argues that providing basic energy access is insufficient; instead, global energy systems must be transformed to support long-term economic development while limiting global temperature increase to below 2°C. Using three scenarios—Baseline, Basic Energy Access (BEA), and Shared Development Agenda (SDA)—the authors demonstrate that reaching a per capita income of USD 10,000 by 2050 requires a massive scale-up of renewables, nuclear power, and energy efficiency, alongside the virtual phase-out of fossil fuels. The brief concludes that market-based instruments alone are inadequate, necessitating a more active state role in investment and innovation, as well as a structural transformation of international governance through the UN and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• The global energy challenge requires a shift from a "sticking plaster" approach of providing basic access to developing systems that enable long-term economic development. This involves focusing on efficiency, expanding low-carbon electricity, and phasing out fossil fuels.
• Under the Basic Energy Access (BEA) and Shared Development Agenda (SDA) scenarios, conventional fossil fuel technologies for electricity generation would need to be virtually phased out before 2050, with only CCS-based systems remaining.
• The SDA scenario, which assumes all countries reach per capita income levels of at least USD 10,000 (2005 PPP) by 2050, requires energy intensity to decline by 2.8% annually, reaching 32% of its 2010 value by 2050.
• Meeting the electricity demand of the BEA and SDA scenarios requires a "step change" in the expansion of nuclear power and renewable energy, including wind, solar, geothermal, and some additional hydropower.
• Current market-based instruments and policies are insufficient for the necessary energy system transformations. The state must take a more active role in mobilizing investment capital and enabling innovation to overcome the "valley of death" for new technologies.
• There is a significant gap in international governance for energy systems. The authors recommend that the UN system find a permanent institutional home for energy and that energy targets be formally integrated into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

APA

M., N., C., H., Å., P., M., C., S., P., M., K., M., O., I., R., R., S., D., W., D., V. V., K., R., B., A., & Y., M. (2012). Energy for a Shared Development Agenda: Global Scenarios and Governance Implications. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Rethinking-development/SEI-PB-2012-Energy-for-All.pdf

Chicago

M., Nilsson, Heaps, C., Persson, Å., Carson, M., Pachauri, S., Kok, M., Olsson, M., et al. Energy for a Shared Development Agenda: Global Scenarios and Governance Implications. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2012. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Rethinking-development/SEI-PB-2012-Energy-for-All.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{m2012energy, author = {M., Nilsson and C., Heaps, and Å., Persson, and M., Carson, and S., Pachauri, and M., Kok, and M., Olsson, and I., Rehman, and R., Schaeffer, and D., Wood, and D., van Vuuren, and K., Riahi, and B., Americano, and Y., Mulugetta.}, title = {{Energy for a Shared Development Agenda: Global Scenarios and Governance Implications}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2012}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Rethinking-development/SEI-PB-2012-Energy-for-All.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }