Effects of Increasing Population in Energy Crisis

By: Angel Faith M. Panaguiton


Introduction





Fig. 1. shows how the population grows each year. Fig 1. Philippines’Population

in 2014-2021 https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Philippines/population_size/


Energy is needed for a variety of tasks, including lighting up office buildings, delivering products, running cars, heating and cooling our homes, and producing the goods we use every day. As the group that benefits from the use of energy, the population plays a significant role in the sector; therefore, it is crucial to recognize and comprehend how it might influence energy consumption.

Energy Consumption and Population Growth


In recent years, a lot of focus has been placed on the intricate connection between population size and energy use. As the size of a population increases, so does its energy consumption. It has been suggested that the size of the population the planet is able to sustain depends on the amount of energy sources available. With most traditional sources of fuel already used to their maximum capacity and while the search for scalable and sustainable alternatives continues, the question of how population growth affects demand for energy is important to consider.[1] The Population Division of the United Nations predicts a global population of approximately 9 billion people in 2050[2]. That is over 2 billion more people than are alive today. This mantra – 9 billion in 2050 – is so ingrained in our and our media’s psyche, that the forecast is no longer questioned.


Growing populations consume more energy. Availability of energy allows populations to grow. Energy consumption exerts demands on energy resources making them scarcer. They become harder to extract. Nearby forests are depleted, coal mines must dig deeper, oil has to be drilled in more complex environments. In other words, energy resource extraction experiences declining marginal returns. This has led to the exploitation of new energy sources, which in turn expands the Earth’s carrying capacity. Then populations grow once more.[3] A study by Zarco-Perinan et al. (2021) also supported these earlier findings that higher population density leads to higher per- inhabitant and per-household energy consumption.


Conclusion


All of our resource issues, especially those related to energy, are actually being caused by population expansion. Energy consumption will naturally decrease if population growth is slowed. The globe is currently seeing a shift from non-renewable to renewable sources, therefore there is yet hope. As the population grows, the region will become increasingly dependent on external energy supplies to keep up with demand unless policy solutions are introduced to ensure Canton’s energy independence.[1]

References


[1 ]Huang H, Du Z, He Y. (2018). The Effect of Population Expansion on Energy Consumption in Canton of China: A Simulation from Computable General Equilibrium Approach. International Journal of Engineering Sciences & Management Research, 5(1): 19-26.

  1. UN Medium Variant, or Business-as-Usual prediction.

  2. Graham Zabel, MSc Demography/Energy Economics (2009). PEAK PEOPLE: THE INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POPULATION GROWTH AND ENERGY RESOURCES

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