Sustainable development is a critical, central and important goal and means for human and societal activity. Energy sustainability is of great importance to any activities and plans for overall sustainable development, and the achievement of sustainability. This is particularly important given 1) the pervasiveness of energy use throughout almost all aspects of societies and the lives of people, 2) the importance of energy in economic development of societies and the living standards attained by people, and 3) the significant impacts that energy processes and systems have on the environment and the ecosystems within them. Many factors that need to be considered and appropriately addressed in moving or shifting towards energy sustainability are examined in this talk. These include appropriate selection of energy resources bearing in mind sustainability criteria, facilitation of the use of sustainable energy resources particularly through the use of appropriate energy carriers, enhancement of the efficiency of energy-related processes, a holistic adoption of environmental stewardship in energy activities, and others. In addition, other key sustainability measures are addressed, such as economics, equity, land use, lifestyle, sociopolitical factors and population. Conclusions are provided related both on options for energy sustainability and on means to achieve sustainable development and overall sustainability. But throughout, a special focus is placed on energy, given its pervasiveness and importance, as well as its centrality in much of human activity.

Marc A. Rosen is a Professor at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, Canada, where he served as founding Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. Dr. Rosen was President of the Engineering Institute of Canada. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of several journals and he was a Director of Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation. With over 60 research grants and contracts and 900 publications, Dr. Rosen is an active teacher and researcher in sustainable energy, environmental impact, and energy technology (including renewable energy and efficiency improvement). Much of his research has been carried out for industry, and he has written numerous books. Dr. Rosen has worked for such organizations as Imatra Power Company in Finland, Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, and the Institute for Hydrogen Systems near Toronto. Dr. Rosen has received numerous awards and honors.