Dresden 2014 – scientific programme

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SOE: Fachverband Physik sozio-ökonomischer Systeme

SOE 15: Symposium SYEE: Energy Meets Economy: Dynamics and Statistics of Future Energy Systems

SOE 15.3: Invited Talk

Wednesday, April 2, 2014, 16:00–16:30, HSZ 02

Planetary constraints to energy supply and the economy — •Oliver Richters — Universität Oldenburg, Institut für Chemie und Biologie des Meeres, Theoretische Physik / Komplexe Systeme — Vereinigung für Ökologische Ökonomie

The “great transformation” towards a future proof economy depends on the provision of a sustainable energy supply. Different planetary boundaries restrict the phase space of possible technical and sociatal solutions. Solar energy or nuclear fusion appear to be the solution for the radical reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, disregarding that other problem areas persist: First, the excessive installation of photovoltaics enters into competition with other kind of landuse and therefore may lead to land system change and accelerate biodiversity loss. Second, the low entropy of solar radiation is the basis for life on earth and its harvesting for human activity reduces the energy available for biological and meteorological processes. Jointly, though renewables can’t run out of stock, the energy throughput is constrained by the speed of regeneration. Third, even nuclear fusion or other sun-independent energy supply cause global warming simply by thermal pollution, as every human activity finally ends up as heat. On the whole, this poses relevant limitations to world energy consumption and possible future energy systems. The realisation of a sustainable energy supply will stop the excessive growth of energy throughput, putting relevant constraints to economic growth, so that it will probably come to an end. An insight is given into the significance this development has for finance, economics, social security and the people on earth.