After nearly 20 years of global energy studies emphasis has shifted from resource limits
and volatile prices to the increasing recognition of environmental issues as important
driving forces for present and future energy systems. In view of concerns about
energy-related sources of global change, as documented by the UNCED process and the
Framework Convention on Climate Change signed in Rio, the paper discusses
transitional strategies and policy measures that achieve economic and social
development goals while minimizing emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2.
Environmentally more compatible energy strategies encompass a wide range of
techno-economic adjustments such as efficiency improvements and shifts to low and
carbon-free fuels on one hand, and institutional and social-behavioral responses on the
other. The paper illustrates ongoing research at the International Institute for Applied
Systems Analysis (IJASA) to develop analytical tools for the assessment of policy
options that respond to the agenda set forward by UNCED and which is likely to
remain a planetary one for much of the 21st century.