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As of 2006, fossil fuels accounted for 68% of Virginia's energy consumption, with approximately 78% of electricity generation derived from fossil fuels. Between 1990 and 2005, state greenhouse gas emissions increased by 15%, a growth rate slower than the U.S. average, with 91% of 2005 emissions resulting from energy consumption.

The Southeast United States accounts for 20% of U.S. energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, with a heavy reliance on fossil fuels (80%) and high per capita electricity use. Rapid population growth is projected to increase energy demand, particularly in electricity generation, which already constitutes 45% of regional energy consumption. The region's dependence on imported fossil fuels exposes it to price volatility and supply disruptions, while its emissions profile makes it a significant global contributor to climate change.

The fact sheet describes biomass cofiring—the simultaneous combustion of biomass and a base fuel, typically coal—as a practical bridge to a renewable energy future. It highlights benefits including linear reductions in CO2 and SO2 emissions, lower capital costs for retrofitting existing boilers, and support for sustainable forest management by creating markets for hazardous fuels. However, it identifies barriers such as feedstock preparation costs and ASTM standards that prevent the sale of biomass-contaminated fly ash. The document suggests that replacing 5% of U.S. coal with biomass could reduce total U.S. emissions by 1.5% within 5-10 years.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analysis indicates that a national 25 percent by 2025 renewable electricity standard would create 297,000 jobs, generate $263.4 billion in new capital investment, and lower consumer energy bills by $64.3 billion by 2025. The policy would diversify the U.S. energy mix by increasing renewable capacity from 28,000 MW in 2007 to 248,000 MW by 2025, primarily through wind, solar, bioenergy, and geothermal sources. Environmentally, the standard would reduce power plant CO2 emissions by 277 million metric tons annually by 2025, equivalent to removing 45.3 million cars from the road.

The document argues that South Africa's heavy reliance on coal, which provided over 90% of electricity generation, creates a significant opportunity for carbon mitigation through the deployment of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP). While the government's White Paper on Renewable Energy (WPRE) set a target of 10,000GWh of renewable energy by 2013, the author suggests a more ambitious target of 15% renewable contribution to final electricity consumption by 2020. To achieve this, the paper proposes a tender process for large-scale projects, complemented by a Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff (REFIT) to make projects financially viable despite low domestic electricity tariffs. The author highlights that South Africa possesses vast solar resources, with 194,000km2 of land potentially viable for CSP. International cooperation is recommended to provide knowledge sharing, incremental funding to bridge the gap between levelised electricity costs and revenues, and risk mitigation to attract private capital.

Friends of the Earth President Brent Blackwelder argues that President Bush's plan to promote coal, oil, and nuclear power as energy solutions will cement his legacy as the worst president in history regarding the environment, while the planet approaches a global warming tipping point.

The author contends that 'peak oil'—the point of maximum conventional oil production—is an economic crisis of 'the end of cheap energy' that compounds the climate crisis. As conventional oil becomes harder to extract, the industry shifts to non-conventional sources like oil sands, which have a significantly lower Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI) and higher carbon emissions. The paper warns that relying on these sources or turning to coal to offset oil prices will hinder climate mitigation. To address this, the author highlights the 'Zero Carbon Britain' strategy and the 'Transition Towns' movement as models for moving toward a low-energy, sustainable future.

The Union of Concerned Scientists analysis indicates that a 15 percent by 2020 national renewable electricity standard would reduce consumer energy costs, increase renewable energy capacity, and lower power plant CO2 emissions in the United States.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) asserts that carbon dioxide capture and sequestration (CCS) is the only viable near-term solution to curb emissions from the expanding use of coal, particularly in the U.S. and China. While energy efficiency, renewables, and nuclear power are important, they cannot currently offset coal use at the necessary scale. WRI argues that a carbon cap and trade regime is a critical first step to incentivize low-carbon investment, though current legislative proposals likely offer carbon prices too low to offset high capture costs. Consequently, the document calls for increased public funding for research, development and demonstration (RD&D) and additional policy tools to address regulatory and public acceptance barriers.

The document explains how wind energy integrates into the New England electricity grid to displace polluting fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, oil, and coal. It highlights the importance of siting turbines in high-wind areas to maximize pollution reduction and discusses policy mechanisms like cap-and-trade and renewable portfolio standards to accelerate the transition to clean energy.

The document outlines how U.S. consumers can support renewable energy via green pricing, green marketing, and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). It contrasts the environmental benefits of renewables—such as wind, solar, and geothermal—against the pollution and health risks associated with coal, oil, nuclear power, and natural gas. It also provides tools for verifying green power claims, including the Green-e certification and the Power Scorecard tool.

India and China are experiencing rapid economic growth and a corresponding surge in energy consumption, leading to an increasing reliance on imported oil, primarily from the Persian Gulf. Both nations are pursuing similar strategies to mitigate this vulnerability: diversifying import sources, acquiring equity oil through overseas investments, building strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs), and shifting toward natural gas and nuclear power. While there are efforts toward Sino-Indian energy cooperation, such as joint bids for oilfields in third countries, competition remains high, particularly in contested areas like Burma. The report outlines three future scenarios: 'Increased cooperation,' 'Conflict in East Asia' (centered on Taiwan and Japan), and 'The Middle East explodes' (a full-scale resource war). It recommends that Norway support energy efficiency, clean coal and gas technologies, and the inclusion of China and India in the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The Union of Concerned Scientists analyzed the potential effects of Colorado's Amendment 37, which would require the state's largest electric companies to increase renewable energy use to 10 percent of sales by 2015. Under the most likely scenario, the report projects that the initiative would result in $236 million in consumer savings on electricity and natural gas bills, the creation of 2,000 new jobs by 2020, and a reduction of 3 million metric tons of annual CO2 emissions by 2025. The analysis highlights that wind resources would drive most of the development, providing significant capital investment and tax revenues for rural communities.

The document assesses South Africa's energy sector, primarily its electricity supply industry (ESI), through the lens of sustainable development. It analyzes the transition of Eskom from a vertically integrated monopoly to a corporatized entity and the government's efforts to liberalize the market while maintaining social equity. Key findings highlight the environmental burden of coal-dependency, the success of national electrification programs in expanding access to the poor, and the necessity of restructuring the ESI to optimize future investment and integrate renewable energy sources.

The report examines subsidies within the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), focusing on South Africa's manufacturing, agriculture, and energy sectors. It finds that most domestic incentives are WTO-compliant, though the Duty Credit Certification Scheme for textiles is an exception. The agricultural sector has seen significant deregulation since the 1980s, resulting in low Producer Support Estimates (PSE) for most commodities. However, the region remains vulnerable to foreign subsidies, particularly the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the U.S. Farm Bill, which distort markets for sugar and beef. In the energy sector, South Africa's heavy reliance on coal creates high carbon intensity and a lack of incentives for renewable energy due to low coal prices.

The Union of Concerned Scientists asserts that the United States can meet 20% of its electricity needs via renewables by 2020, saving consumers $440 billion and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by two-thirds compared to business-as-usual forecasts. The report suggests this approach would avoid the need for 975 new power plants and significantly decrease reliance on coal and natural gas.

The report describes the comprehensive environmental and health impacts of coal in the United States, noting that the electric power industry is the nation's largest toxic polluter. It highlights that coal, used for over half of U.S. electricity, releases diverse toxic pollutants during mining, cleaning, transportation, generation, and disposal, affecting nearly 900 million tons of coal burned annually. These pollutants are linked to cancer, reproductive impairment, developmental issues in children, and damage to the nervous and immune systems. Additionally, the document identifies carbon dioxide emissions from power plants as the primary greenhouse gas responsible for climate change and notes that impacts vary by region, ranging from mining concerns in coal-field regions to inhalation risks in urban areas.

The authors oppose a proposal by Colorado State Representative Carl Miller to increase coal use, arguing that coal plants are expensive, polluting, and slow to implement. They propose a transition toward energy efficiency, which could save up to 70% of current electricity use, and distributed energy resources including wind, solar, bio-fuels, and fuel cells. The text highlights the success of wind energy programs in Colorado, such as those by Holy Cross Energy and Public Service Company, as evidence of the viability of a free-market approach to clean energy.

The document consists of email correspondence and letters between Amory Lovins (RMI) and Mark Mills (science advisor to the Greening Earth Society) following a Forbes article by Mills and Peter Huber. Mills argued that the Internet's energy demand is growing exponentially and will require significant continued reliance on coal-fired power. Lovins, supported by scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, challenged these claims as 'junk science,' arguing that Mills grossly overstated the power consumption of individual devices (PCs and routers) and ignored efficiency gains. The exchange concludes with Lovins accusing Mills of failing to respond to specific technical rebuttals and violating professional ethics by publishing private correspondence.

The SEI/UNEP Fuel Chain Project developed a methodology and software tool within the LEAP/EDB system to assess the full life-cycle environmental impacts of energy resources. By analyzing the 'chain' from extraction to end-use, the project aims to provide a more comprehensive comparison of fuel options than site-specific assessments. Case studies in Sri Lanka and Venezuela were used to validate the tool, focusing on biomass, coal, natural gas, and petroleum. In Sri Lanka, biomass was found to be environmentally superior to coal for electricity generation, while LPG was cleaner than biomass for household cooking. In Venezuela, natural gas was preferred over residual fuel oil for electricity, but its advantage over diesel for transport was mixed due to methane emissions and lower vehicle efficiency.