The 3 Es of Energy

1
The 3 Es of Energy

• Ethics, Economics and Efficiency

Barun Mitra Liberty Institute, New Delhi
New York, 9 March 2009
2
Ethics

• Freedom to choose is the basis of morality
• Freedom to learn from the choices made

3
Ethical Economics

• Trade
• Competition
• Innovation
• Productivity
• Rising income and affordability
• Capacity to choose

4
Efficiency

• Lower resource consumption for the same levels of
  production
• Energy used per unit of goods produced is among
  the highest in China and India, indicating less
  efficient systems
• US and other industrialised countries have much
  less energy use per unit of GDP

5
From heat to light

• Fire
• Torch
• Candle
• Lamp
• Lantern
• Filament bulb
• Tube light
• Vapor lamps
• Compact filament lamp

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Who enjoys the freedom to choose?
7
Heat to light
8
Searching for Light
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Attending to natures call

• Open in the outdoor
• Near water sources
• Hole in the ground (Slumdog millionaire?)
• In-house toilets connected to septic tanks
  (Versailles Palace did not have indoor toilets)
• Piped water supply to the toilet
• Dry toilets
• Toilet paper
• Toilets connected to sewage system

10
Slumdog sanitation
11
Nature extracts its price

• Inefficiency of burning wood or agricultural
  wastes
• Hazards of large fires
• Indoor air pollution (annual death toll half a
  million)
• Waterborne diseases (annual death toll 5 million
  under the age of five)
• One gram of human faeces can contain 10,000,000
  viruses, 1,000,000 bacteria, 1,000 parasite
  cysts, 100 parasite eggs. The lack of adequate
  sanitation in developing countries kills 5,000
  children every day

Water Aid
12
Moving the world

• Animal drawn carts
• Bycycles
• Motorised vehicles
• Diversity of vehicles for specialised needs
• Diversity of fuels for transportation
• Diverse modes of transport
• Increased efficiency, lower cost of mobility

13
Joy of riding comes from choice
14
On the Move, not much choice
15
Struggling to Move
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No choice but to move
A road scene from a smaller city in Rajasthan
Source AP, 2006
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Consumption is the Key

• Necessity is the mother of invention
• Innovation is triggered by increasing demands for
  consumption
• Consumption drives the economic signals for
  investment in innovations and improvements
• Higher efficiency, smaller ecological footprint,
  cleaner environment

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Growing Consumption, Shrinking footprint

• Poorer countries with lower levels of
  consumption, and apparently smaller ecological
  footprint, have more hazardous environment
• Richer countries with higher levels of
  consumption, and apparently larger ecological
  footprint, have more attractive living environment

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Moral of the story

• Problems of poverty
• Low levels of consumption
• Restricted competition
• Lower productivity
• Harsher environment
• Lack of capacity to choose

20
Moral of the story

• Bounty of Plenty
• Increased consumption
• Enhanced competition
• Higher productivity
• Cleaner environment
• Greater freedom to choose

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Challenging Climate

• If we are not concerned about the plight of the
  poor, and the problems of their present, then we
  can hardly expect the poor to be concerned about
  the future of the rich decades or centuries later
• The debate over climate change has a lot to do
  with keeping the poor in their place in the hope
  of securing the future of the rich this is
  immoral, unsustainble, and inefficient

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Freedom of choice at the core of ethical
economics Energy consumption holds the key to a
wealthier society and cleaner environment

• Liberty Institute
• New Delhi
• Email barun_at_libertyindia.org
• www.InDefenceofLiberty.org , www.ChallengingClimat
  e.org