Role of Environmental

Engineering for SDG 7

Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and
modern energy for all

Group members
Shayndell Chapman-816023042
Kai Fairman-816023260
Christian Ruiz-816022686
Damion Seechan-816022451
Why do we need affordable, reliable, sustainable
and modern energy?
Sustainable and clean energy services are crucial to human well-being and to a country’s
economic development. They have the potential to minimize environmental impacts,
including waste production, and increase social welfare based on current and future needs.
Access to modern energy is essential for the provision of clean water, sanitation and
healthcare, reliable and efficient lighting, heating, food, cooking, transport, and
telecommunication services.  
Our demand for energy is the dominant contributor to climate change, accounting for
around 60 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. 
Using combustible fuels for household energy can create indoor air pollution, which caused
4.3 million deaths in 2012, with women and girls accounting for six out of every 10 of
these. 
The UN has identified five ‘tiers’ of energy access. 250 million households worldwide still
lack Tier 1 energy, without which there is little prospect of people escaping poverty.
However, advances in engineering ensure that enterprises can now offer Tier 1 energy on a
viable basis and progress is being made towards more sustainable and cleaner sources of
energy. The share of renewable energy in final energy consumption has reached 17.5 per
cent in 2015. 
 How can the skills & knowledge obtained
from this course be used to achieve the
SDG?
This Environmental Engineering course aims at highlighting the effects of pollution on the
environment and developing an understanding of the foundational principles for designing
technologies to limit their adverse impacts. 
Engineers are responsible for designing and constructing infrastructure for renewable energy
sources such as Wind Energy ,Solar energy ,Hydraulic and hydroelectric energy, Tidal and wave
energy and Biodiesel. In addition, there is a responsibility to ensure system designed are tailored
to the unique climate, geological and geographical conditions of an area.
 As future engineers one of our roles will be to participate in research of new renewable
resources .Cleaner energy that is effectively developed can ensure development and guarantee
energy supply.  Renewable energy systems should have long lifespans and be designed so that
when the systems can no longer perform, they can be appropriately disposed of with minimal
amounts of the system ending up in landfills thus improving sustainability of projects.
 We will be taught about the importance of management of the environment for sustainable
development within Caribbean societies. As future engineers we will acquire skills to address
current problems in the Caribbean and develop appropriate solutions for overcoming them.
Engineering education has a key role to play in helping to meet the challenges associated with
prosperity and sustainability around the world. Engineers are needed to research, design and
construct new ways to improve the way we use energy and resources ,and find new eco-friendly
and financially sustainable sources of energy.

References
Create Digital, ed. “World Engineering Day: Delivering Clean and Affordable Energy.” Create, February 21, 2020. https://createdigital.org.au/world-
engineering-day-delivering-clean-affordable-energy/. 

Emerald Publishing Ltd. “Impactful Engineering Education through Sustainable Energy Collaborations with Public and Private Entities.” International
Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 2019. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJSHE-10-2018-0166/full/html.

Rogers, Charlotte. “Why Should You Be Working in Renewable Energy Engineering?” Engineering & Technology Jobs. Engineering & Technology Jobs,
April 25, 2019. https://engineering-jobs.theiet.org/article/why-should-you-be-working-in-renewable-energy-engineering-#:~:text=Engineers%20are
%20needed%20to%20research,financially%20sustainable%20sources%20of%20energy.