April 14, 2019
I'd never heard of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) before, but the 160 countries and regional intergovernmental agencies that comprise its membership have released a report entitled Global Energy Transformation: A Roadmap to 2050. I ran across a summary of the report at Think Progress, and I thought I'd share parts of it with you. This is an important report.
The members of IRENA base their research on the premise that renewable energy sources, as the most accessible energy on earth, can accelerate conversion to electricity on a global scale while meeting agreed-upon climate objectives. (I should mention that member countries must also belong to the United Nations.) Their report maintains that because prices of key clean energy technologies are dropping, as much as 85% of the world's energy could come from renewable energy sources, primarily solar and wind. Keeping the global temperature increase below two degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, will include taking advantage of factors like renewable energy, energy efficiency, and electrification of transportation, buildings, and industry.
Remarkably, IRENA's report also projects that their "Renewable Energy Roadmap," or Remap, "would also save the global economy up to USD 160 trillion cumulatively over the next 30 years in avoided health costs, energy subsidies and climate damages." In order to realize this bonanza, countries must work to reduce CO2 emissions by 70%, so that the global average temperature does not increase more than two degrees Celsius. The good news is that renewable energy and energy efficiency can provide over 90% of this reduction. The IRENA report notes that "in the Power sector, solar and wind energy are on the path to dominance." In other words, these goals aren't pie in the sky. They're achievable.
Where transportation is concerned, electric vehicles (EV's) will require heavy investment in a battery- charging infrastructure that will allow a billion of these vehicles to ride the roads within 30 years. The heating sector also requires decarbonization. In the future, look for a big push for solar photovoltaic panels. That's because solar pv will run solar hot water heaters. At the same time, look for a 16-fold increase in high-efficiency electric heat pumps. Needless to say, the government can help make these technologies more attractive to consumers with initial subsidies. Finally, green buildings and high-efficiency industrial processes will make a big difference where health and productivity benefits are concerned. Economic output could increase by $18 trillion by 2035. And IRENA predicts that the transition to "deep electrification" will result in the creation of 11 million net new jobs.
The future could be very bright.
With thanks to ThinkProgress and www.irena.org.
I'd never heard of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) before, but the 160 countries and regional intergovernmental agencies that comprise its membership have released a report entitled Global Energy Transformation: A Roadmap to 2050. I ran across a summary of the report at Think Progress, and I thought I'd share parts of it with you. This is an important report.
The members of IRENA base their research on the premise that renewable energy sources, as the most accessible energy on earth, can accelerate conversion to electricity on a global scale while meeting agreed-upon climate objectives. (I should mention that member countries must also belong to the United Nations.) Their report maintains that because prices of key clean energy technologies are dropping, as much as 85% of the world's energy could come from renewable energy sources, primarily solar and wind. Keeping the global temperature increase below two degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, will include taking advantage of factors like renewable energy, energy efficiency, and electrification of transportation, buildings, and industry.
Remarkably, IRENA's report also projects that their "Renewable Energy Roadmap," or Remap, "would also save the global economy up to USD 160 trillion cumulatively over the next 30 years in avoided health costs, energy subsidies and climate damages." In order to realize this bonanza, countries must work to reduce CO2 emissions by 70%, so that the global average temperature does not increase more than two degrees Celsius. The good news is that renewable energy and energy efficiency can provide over 90% of this reduction. The IRENA report notes that "in the Power sector, solar and wind energy are on the path to dominance." In other words, these goals aren't pie in the sky. They're achievable.
Where transportation is concerned, electric vehicles (EV's) will require heavy investment in a battery- charging infrastructure that will allow a billion of these vehicles to ride the roads within 30 years. The heating sector also requires decarbonization. In the future, look for a big push for solar photovoltaic panels. That's because solar pv will run solar hot water heaters. At the same time, look for a 16-fold increase in high-efficiency electric heat pumps. Needless to say, the government can help make these technologies more attractive to consumers with initial subsidies. Finally, green buildings and high-efficiency industrial processes will make a big difference where health and productivity benefits are concerned. Economic output could increase by $18 trillion by 2035. And IRENA predicts that the transition to "deep electrification" will result in the creation of 11 million net new jobs.
The future could be very bright.
With thanks to ThinkProgress and www.irena.org.
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