The polluting rich

There is a continuing preference for energy sources like coal, oil and gas among the industrialised nations. This trend persists against the use of more environment-friendly energy sources like geothermal, solar, hydro and combustible renewables and waste. Even today, despite the environmental concerns expressed worldwide, the total primary energy supply in the 29 powerful member-nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (oecd) is mainly from fossil fuels which are highly polluting. On the other hand, fuel consumption across the world reveals that developing countries are gradually cutting down on the consumption of oil and coal in favour of non-conventional energy sources that are considerably less polluting.