The International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that "the world is moving for an unsustainable energy future" if governments do not adopt "urgent measures" to optimize the resources available [See the article AIE: mundo se encaminha para futuro energético insustentável (IEA: World is moving towards unsustainable energy future), published on website <http: />]. To optimize the energy resources available on the planet, we must begin the third energy revolution that should result in the implementation of a sustainable energy system on a global scale. In a sustainable energy system, the world oil production should be reduced by half and coal 90%, while renewable energy sources (solar, wind, biomass, tidal, geothermal, hydrogen, etc.) should grow nearly 4 times by 2030. In 2030, renewable energy should be about 70% of the total energy of the planet.

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THE IMPERATIVE OF THIRD ENERGY REVOLUTION IN THE WORLD
Fernando Alcoforado *
In the second half of the eighteenth century occurred in England the first energy
revolution in the world with the use of coal to replace wood until then widely used. The
first energy revolution occurred simultaneously with the advent of the 1st Industrial
Revolution. With a calorific value higher than the previously used fuel, coal provided
far more energy for the same volume, and it is easier and more economical to transport
it. The development of coal mines and the invention of the steam engine gave birth in
Europe and the West to a new economy.
The steam engine drives the machines in the factories, the locomotives in the first
railways and the ships replace vessels fueled by sail. People, goods, capital and ideas
start to circulate until then unknown speed. Quickly a new environment opens up with
the emergence of the first cities and changes in social organization. The first energy
revolution was confined to Europe, first in Britain and then in Western Europe, and then
in the United States in the early twentieth century.
The second energy revolution, which coincided with the 2nd Industrial Revolution,
occurred with the advent of oil and electricity. The use of oil as an energy source in the
world had its beginning in the United States with the operation of the first oil well in
1901 in Texas. Just as the steam engine was crucial to the advent of coal as an energy
source, the combustion engine held the same role with the advent of oil. The discovery
of an energy vector like electricity and the invention of electric machines in the
nineteenth century, along with the introduction of motor vehicles, laid the foundation
for the introduction of modern consumer society, characterized by an energy intensity
never before seen in human history.
One way or another, all human activities on Earth led to changes in the environment in
which we live. Many of these environmental impacts are from the generation, handling
and use of energy which is responsible for 57% of emissions of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. The main reason for this significant share of energy processes can be
observed in the fact that in 1998, according to the United Nations, global consumption
of primary energy from non-renewable sources (oil, coal, natural gas and nuclear)
accounted for approximately 86 % of the total, leaving only 14% for renewable sources.
This heavy dependence on non-renewable energy sources has resulted, in addition to the
ongoing concern with the depletion of these sources, the emission of large amounts of
carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere taht in 1973 was 16.2 billion tons and 1998
was approximately 23 billion tons, about double the amount issued in 1965. If the
International Energy Agency (IEA) energy supply projections are confirmed, the
amount of carbon emissions is expected to increase reaching 32.8 tons of CO2 in 2020.
As a result of dependence on non-renewable energy sources, carbon dioxide content in
the atmosphere has been increasing steadily, leading many experts to believe that the
increase in average temperature of the Earth's biosphere, which has been observed for
decades, is due to "Greenhouse effect" caused by this increase in CO2 and other gases
in the atmosphere.
If there is no immediate reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases, the means of
adaptation will not be enough, and life on the planet will be threatened. Climate change
will leave no part of the globe intact. If there is no reduction of climate change,

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scientists predict severe and irreversible impacts on humanity and ecosystems.
Livelihoods will be disrupted by storms, floods resulting from rising sea level that can
submerge many islands and coastal cities and periods of drought and extreme heat
worldwide. Extreme weather events can lead to the breakdown of network infrastructure
and services. There is a risk of food insecurity, water scarcity, loss of agricultural
production and income support, particularly in poorer populations.
Brazil and the world are facing a challenge that is not to allow global warming in the
twenty-first century more than two degrees Celsius. To prevent heating of the upper
planet to 2 °C would require stabilizing carbon dioxide concentrations (and equivalents)
at 450 ppm (parts per million) without which the world would confront up to the end of
the twenty-first century with catastrophic climate change which can threaten the
survival of humanity. To achieve this, global emissions have to be reduced below their
1990 levels. To reduce emissions relative to 1990 levels is a huge challenge. Just
consider that the International Energy Agency (IEA), by projecting recent trends, makes
forecast of 50% increase energy demand by 2030, with continued dependence on fossil
fuels.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that "the world is moving for an
unsustainable energy future" if governments do not adopt "urgent measures" to optimize
the resources available [See the article AIE: mundo se encaminha para futuro
energético insustentável (IEA: World is moving towards unsustainable energy future),
published on website <http://g1.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2011/11/aie-diz-que-mundo-
se-encaminha-parafuturo-energetico-insustentavel.html>]. To optimize the energy
resources available on the planet, we must begin the third energy revolution that should
result in the implementation of a sustainable energy system on a global scale. In a
sustainable energy system, the world oil production should be reduced by half and coal
90%, while renewable energy sources (solar, wind, biomass, tidal, geothermal,
hydrogen, etc.) should grow nearly 4 times by 2030. In 2030, renewable energy should
be about 70% of the total energy of the planet.
With sustainable energy system, it is very possible that natural gas pass to be among the
fossil fuels, the dominant energy resource in the future. Nuclear power would not be an
important source of energy in a energy system really sustainable. This is due largely to
the accidents at Three Mile Island in the United States, Chernobyl in the former Soviet
Union and Fukushima in Japan. A sustainable energy system will only be possible if
energy efficiency is greatly improved. These are requirements for sustainable energy
systems worldwide.
The first step to implement a sustainable energy system in the world is to redirect a
large number of government policies so that they are intended to achieve the main
objectives of energy efficiency and reducing the use of fossil fuels. For example, reward
the purchase of efficient motor vehicles and manufacture of electric cars, encourage
mass transport alternative of high capacity to replace the car, restructure the energy
industries and raising taxes on fossil fuels.
The use of renewable energy sources cause large magnitude changes across the planet
highlighting, among them, the creation of entirely new industries, the development of
new transport systems and the modification of agriculture and cities. The great
challenge for today is to continue the development of new technologies that efficiently
make use of the energy and using economically renewable resources This is the
alternative energy scenario that could avoid compromising the global environment. This

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means that profound changes in global energy policy should be put in place to enable
the third energy revolution in the world.
* Fernando Alcoforado, member of the Bahia Academy of Education, engineer and doctor of Territorial
Planning and Regional Development from the University of Barcelona, a university professor and
consultant in strategic planning, business planning, regional planning and planning of energy systems, is
the author of Globalização (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova
(Des)ordem Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São
Paulo, 2000), Os condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado.
Universidade de Barcelona, http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globalização e
Desenvolvimento (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX
e Objetivos Estratégicos na Era Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of
the Economic and Social Development-The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Muller
Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe
Planetária (P&A Gráfica e Editora, Salvador, 2010), Amazônia Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e
combate ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011),
Os Fatores Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012) and
Energia no Mundo e no Brasil- Energia e Mudança Climática Catastrófica no Século XXI (Editora CRV,
Curitiba, 2015).