Energy management and global health

Abstract

Energy and energy technologies have a central role in social and economic development at all scales, from household and community to regional and national. Among its welfare effects, energy is closely linked with public health both positively and negatively, the latter through environmental pollution and degradation. We review the current research on how energy use and energy technologies influence public health, emphasizing the risks associated with indoor and ambient air pollution from energy use, and the links between the local and global environmental health impacts of energy use. This review illustrates that, despite their large public health implications, most energy policies and programs in the developing world are fundamentally treated as components of overall economic development, without explicit assessment of their health benefits or hazards. Closer integration of health in energy management can facilitate the development of policies and programs that increase welfare and minimize negative health outcomes. Renewable energy technologies are used as an example of how an integrated energy-health approach can be used in policy analysis and formulation.