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3.2.4 Institutional Dimension
The EISD do not yet include institutional indicators. These indicators are the most
difficult to define for two reasons. First, they tend to address issues that are, by nature,
difficult to measure in quantitative terms. Many of these issues relate to the future and
require dynamic analysis based on projections of energy production, use and
investment. Second, the variables measured by institutional
indicators tend to be
structural or policy responses to sustainable development needs.
For example, institutional indicators might help to measure not only the existence but
also the effectiveness of a national sustainable energy development strategy or plan,
energy statistical capacity and analytical capabilities, or the adequacy and
effectiveness of investments in capacity building, education or research and
development. Institutional indicators could also help
to monitor progress towards
appropriate and effective legislative, regulatory and enforcement institutions for
energy systems.
Infrastructure is the backbone of any national energy system. Countries need to
monitor the state of their major energy infrastructures to ensure a sustainable energy
future. Many countries now depend on major energy infrastructures that are obsolete,
inefficient, insufficient or environmentally unacceptable.
3.3
Accommodating National Sustainability and Development Priorities
Some caveats are in order about the use of the EISD and
their interpretation for
monitoring progress towards sustainable energy development. Since the publication of
the Brundtland Report, countries have begun to define their own sustainable
development objectives and priorities, reflecting national resources and needs,
aspirations, and social and economic conditions. Sustainable development strategies
must therefore be structured to accommodate a wide range of
definitions of what
desirable sustainable development can encompass, and monitoring the success of such
strategies through indicators must also avoid rigid definitions or judgements about
what is universally desirable and necessary.
For example, it is possible for an economy to be sustainable without developing. This
was true of hunter-gatherer groups living twenty thousand years ago. It is also
possible for a country to develop without its development being sustainable. This
would be true of a country completely dependent on a lucrative and highly effective
fishing industry that generates high income levels,
thus enabling investment in
schools, hospitals, art galleries and welfare services, but that also exhausts the fish
stocks. This country would have achieved a degree of development, but that
development would not be sustainable since it is destroying the country’s source of
income.
However, it is also true that the depletion of resources
does not necessarily imply
unsustainable development. By definition, if an energy source is not renewable, any
use of it is irreversible. But this does not mean it should never be used. Consider a
country with a natural gas field that uses all of the gas in a way calculated to bring in
funds to build up its economy and technology, and then moves on to another form of
energy — for example, renewables or imported fuels. This
may represent sustainable
development. The depletion of the gas field by one generation does not necessarily
jeopardize the energy supply for future generations.
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Paradoxically, the economic and environmental crises of depletion in the past have all
come from the exhaustion of renewable resources — overfishing, overgrazing, cutting
down too many trees, etc. This highlights the importance
of not using renewable
resources at a rate faster than their natural replenishment rates.
The indicators, with one possible exception, do not individually distinguish between a
focus on sustainability or on development. The possible exception is SOC1 (share of
households without electricity or commercial energy). This is clearly an indicator of
development only and not sustainability. The rest of the indicators could mark either.
However, used together and in the context of a country’s individual circumstances,
they can be used to show progress towards sustainable development and attainment of
the goals
defined by the country’s particular sustainable development strategy.
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