Energy availability, economic growth and sustainable development are grossly inseparable. Generating adequate power has been a major challenge for most countries across the globe. Energy is vital to every aspect of the socio-economic life. Increasing energy sources ensures energy security, which also enhances sustained growth in all sectors of the economy.

Energy  plays  a  vital  role  as  an  enabler  for  improving  quality  of  life. Its  links  to  other  sectors  such  as  water,  climate,  health,  and  agriculture  must  be  strengthened  through  integrative  policies. Without energy, attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is at risk.

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Energy mix means how final energy consumption in a given geographical region breaks down by primary energy source. It includes fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal), nuclear energy, waste and the many types of renewable energy (biomass, wind, geothermal, water and solar). These primary energy sources are used to generate electricity, provide fuel for transportation, and heat and cool residential and industrial buildings.

Sustainability is defined as the usage as per present requirements without hampering the needs of the future.

Current Energy mix scenario:

• 80% of today’s energy mix is fossil-based, and fossil energy will remain important, a reality that makes it imperative to address the environmental footprint of fossil fuels urgently.
• oil, gas and coal were the primary energies most used worldwide, although renewable, with hydropower on top, has been increasingly used and implemented.
• The current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) widely fail to meet a 2°C temperature objective let alone  the  Paris  agreement’s  goal  of  keeping  warming  temperatures well  below  2°C.
• Since fossil  fuels  and  producing,  transporting,  using  energy  are key  components of  most  countries’ economic development and contribute about three-quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• No single energy resource can sustainably meet the energy demands of any country.
• Energy consumption  is  expected  to  increase  dramatically  over  the  next  50  years  as  the  world’s  population  grows    and    developing    countries    become   more     

Energy mix and sustainability:

• With environmental requirements for zero or low CO2 emission sources and the need to invest in a sustainable energy mix,  new  energy  sources  must  be 
• Integrating all exploitable energy sources is a viable way of achieving stability in energy supply
• Energy mix certainly has the ability to harness all possible sources of energy and reduce the dependence on fossil fuels. This in turn reduces the pollution level.
• Energy mix can always support the energy requirements in a greener manner.
• All energy  sources,  including  renewables,  nuclear  and  high  efficiency  fossil  fuel  with  carbon capture  and  storage  (CCS),  must  be  considered  along  with  new  business  models  and  significant improvements in energy efficiency and productivity to ensure that the energy needed for sustainable development is available and affordable.

Challenges of Renewable energy:

• Renewables (wind,  wave,  solar,  hydro)  offer  long-term,  clean  energy  reserves  but  they have a low energy density, leave a  large  environmental  footprint  and  their   fluctuations   in   time   require   storage systems and back-up power plants.
• Nuclear fission offers a proven alternative but generates long-lived radioactive waste that requires transportation and re-processing
• Solar farms and Wind energy farms need huge swathes of land where acquisition becomes an issue.
• Issues of transmission, storage, distribution to end users are major hindrance still.

Way forward:

• Storage and the cost shall be key determinants for sustainability of renewables.
• Support distributed and off-grid generation systems, as well as the adoption of storage technologies
• Green energy is the way forward but it is not likely to end the need for coal-based thermal plants in world.
• The dependence of coal-based thermal power plants will continue for at least the next couple of decades.
• Hence, it would not be advisable to promote it at the cost of pushing thermal power plants to become unviable on account of renewable energy options.
• The two have to co-exist and supplement each other.
• It is important  to  ensure  that  climate  resilience  is  fully  integrated  into  planning  energy  infrastructure and investments that are at risk from climate change and variability.