Since the average annual energy consumption per capita in developing countries is 0.71 tonnes of oil, a yearly increase of about 65 million tonnes would be required. Hence, they rely mainly on firewood, dung and other biomass for cooking, on diesel generators for electricity, and in some cases on rechargeable car batteries for operating lights, radio and television. It had formerly been thought that the negative effects of misuse of energy resources and technologies would be felt locally, by distinct populations, and these effects would be manageable. At the Earth Summit, it was considered essential to develop environmentally sound technologies and industrial practices. Much of the world's energy, however, is currently produced and consumed in ways that could not be sustained if technology were to remain constant and if overall quantities were to increase substantially.
Technologies are available and the majority have reached the pre-commercialization stage.
In fact, in Asia and the Pacific region, meetings were organized in Jakarta in January, in Beijing in April and in Islamabad in December 1995. A more policy level meeting was held in Penang in Malaysia in January 1996. The World Solar Summit of Heads of States and Governments will be hosted by the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe on 16-17 September 1996 in Harare. The University collaborates with regional centres of excellence in training in renewable energy development. In a long standing UNU training effort in geothermal energy in Iceland, already close to 150 professionals from developing countries have been trained since 1979.