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InterAcademies Council Presents Sustainable Energy As Moral Imperative
The InterAcademies Council report released Monday on sustainable energy options reiterates familiar suggestions for greening the planet’s energy future (improve efficiency, sequester CO2, develop renewable energy sources), but it also presents a compelling argument for applied scientific and technological research in pursuit of the common good.
The first conclusion outlined in the executive summary of the report, Lighting the Way: Toward a Sustainable Energy Future, reads:
Meeting the basic energy needs of the poorest people on this planet is a moral and social imperative that can and must be pursued in concert with sustainability objectives.
Placing the interests of the developing world at the forefront of a major international report on sustainable energy is an emphatic statement that science policy should promote the equity, safety, and health of everyone.
These considerations should not be limited to discussions of climate change and green energy. In the summer edition of Issues in Science and Technology, Daniel Sarewitz notes that much discussion of U.S. science policy dwells on “how much” funding goes to different programs and does not ask “what for.” Particularly in the legislative season of appropriations bills, scientists and policy makers alike may focus on the “how much” questions. But in many situations, the more appropriate questions may be some of those Sarewitz suggests, including, “Who is most likely to benefit from the translation of the research into social outcomes?” and “Who is unlikely to benefit?”
Science (subscription) notes that the emphasis in Lighting the Way on developing nations may galvanize support for the recommendations in Washington D.C. If the report does drive policy decisions on sustainable energy, then it can also frame other questions, large and small, about how applied science and technology can make the world a more equitable place.
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