Principles of Sustainable and Ethical Energy Access and Consumption

Two main aspects need to be considered, with 6 principles each:

Access and consumption for all, now and in the future

1. Energy infrastructure and clean cooking facilities in all areas
2. Access and consumption aligned with climate change mitigation goals
3. Energy prices at reasonable share of minimum income, including indirect costs e.g. resource depletion
4. Energy harvested from renewable sources
5. Energy harvested by processes with little environmental impact, using recyclable materials and techniques
6. Energy not used for unethical purposes

Sustainable and ethical supply chains

1. Safeguarding against natural hazards (floods, earthquakes, space weather)
2. Safeguarding against human hazards (terrorism, hacking, financial market effects)
3. Actively anticipating and solving supply chain bottlenecks; International cooperation on mining rights, land use, and safe transportation
4. Guaranteeing backup availability during emergencies of core services
5. Regular maintenance/replacements in infrastructure, knowledge of techniques, R&D investments
6. Increasing knowledge of best techniques by anticipating needed workforce and skills

To help implement these principles, the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) needs to be calculated justly, including the mining of substances for nuclear reactors and recycling costs; in other words an entire Life Cycle Analysis including the costs of climate impacts.