THE ROLE OF NON-COMMERICAL ENERGY IN THE GLOBAL WARMING PROCESS: ITS CONTRIBUTION TO SINK LOSS AND CO₂ EMISSIONS

• Published in: Energy & environment (Essex, England) England), 1993-01, Vol.4 (1), p.30-47
• Main Authors: Okogu, Bright E., Birol, Fatih
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carbon dioxide emissions; Commercial energy; Deforestation; Developing countries; Emissions policy; Energy consumption; Energy intensity; Fuel consumption; Global warming; Pollutant emissions
• ISSN: 0958-305X; 2048-4070

The present literature on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change either ignores the role of non-commercial energy or treats it in a cursory manner. Yet, there is evidence to suggest that it is an important component of the energy mix in most developing countries. Non-Commercial Energy (NCE) has a dual role in the process of global warming. Not only are emissions from it more potent per unit of heat than from commercial energy, the act of chopping down trees for firewood also reduces the sink capacity for absorbing CO₂. In the face of current economic problems in developing countries, it is likely that this trend would intensify in the coming years. This paper has three main objectives: to correct the shortcomings of the conventional approach in empirical energy/environment studies; to estimate the energyrelated total carbon emissions by including NCE consumption, and finally, to attempt to quantify the loss of sink capacity through harvesting of trees for fuelwood purposes. The empirical results confirm the fact that NCE consumption contributes significantly to the global warming process. The main policy implication from this exercise is that the problem of the environment cannot be separated from that of development. Developing countries need to be assisted to move to more conventional forms of energy as part of the overall solution. This would involve issues of environment-related technology transfer as well as of development generally.