The use of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal) has contributed to the socioeconomic development of the world. However, the abuse of these fuels is harming the advances that have been achieved. In 2005, the world's commercial energy consumption was 63% higher than the figure for 1980; the forecast for 2030 is that it will exceed 2005 figures by 50%. this increase is directly related to the dominant development model, based on economic growth, which has not taken into consideration the idea that the planet is finite. It is a model which, in order to function, has made use of fossil fuels, but which has now entered a crisis owing to the exhaustion of these reserves and the phenomenon of climate change. The control of energy production has been used as a weapon for economic and political pressure, thereby granting energy a new dimension within international security. Even though the future has to come from renewable energies, at the present moment, these energies do not represent more than 7% of the world's energy consumption. In addition, the production of biofuels has come into direct competition with agricultural production, thereby widening the crisis to one of food security; nuclear energy does not seem to be a viable alternative, either. The background debate is to discover whether we are capable of creating a culture of self-containment that will allow us to find the right balance with respect to energy consumption.

ISSN: 1132-6107

60 pp.

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