BERLIN, GERMANY, October 31, 2008.
Aggressive investment in renewable power generation and energy efficiency could create an annual US$360 billion industry, providing half of the world’s electricity, and slashing over US$18 trillion in future fuel costs, according a report from the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) and Greenpeace International.
The report “Energy [R]evolution: A Sustainable World Energy Outlook” provides a blueprint for rapidly cutting energy-related CO2 emissions in order to help ensure that greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) peak and then fall by 2015. This can be achieved while ensuring economies in China, India and other developing nations have access to the energy that they need in order to develop.
“Unlike other energy scenarios that promote energy futures at the cost of the climate, our energy revolution scenario shows how to save money and maintain global economic development without fuelling catastrophic climate change. All we need to kick start this plan is bold energy policy from world leaders,” says Sven Teske, Greenpeace International’s Senior Energy Expert and co-author of the report.
“Strict efficiency standards make sound economic sense and dramatically slow down rising global energy demand. The energy saved in industrialised countries will make space for increased energy use in developing economies. With renewable energy growing four-fold not only in the electricity sector, but also in the heating and transport sectors, we can still cut the average carbon emissions per person from today’s four tonnes to around one tonne by 2050,” he adds.
Win-win-win
Especially in the context of today’s economic instability, investing in renewable energy technologies is a “win-win-win" scenario: a win for energy security, a win for the economy and a win for the climate, according to Greenpeace. While “business as usual” energy scenarios from bodies such as the International Energy Agency come at the cost of the climate and the economy, the Energy [R]evolution makes a clear case for “business as unusual".
It estimates that the additional costs for coal fuel from today until the year 2030 are as high as US$15.9 trillion, more than is required to pay for the “Energy [R]evolution”. These renewable energy sources will produce electricity without any further fuel costs beyond 2030, creating an “enormous” number of jobs and helping lift the world out of recession.
RE to overtake fossil fuel market
Oliver Schäfer, EREC Policy Director says: “The global market for renewable energy can grow at double digit rates until 2050, and overtake the size of today’s fossil fuel industry. Currently, the renewable energy market is worth US$70 billion and doubling in size every three years.”
“Because of economy of scales, renewable energies such as wind power at good sites are already competitive with conventional power. From around 2015 onwards, we are confident that renewable energies across all sectors will be the most cost effective energy capacities. The renewable industry is ready and able to deliver the needed capacity to make the energy revolution a reality. There is no technical impediment but a political barrier to rebuild the global energy sector,” he adds.
“Countries such as China and India are well placed to take the enormous investment opportunity presented by the energy revolution,” says G Ananthapadmanabhan, Greenpeace International Programme Director. “It would be retrogressive for them to focus on fossil fuels to power their rapid economic growth. The energy revolution is key to them climate proofing their development.”
The report also highlights the short time window for making the key decisions in energy infrastructure. In order to achieve a greenhouse gas emission peak by 2015 and a fast reduction afterwards, governments, investment institutions and companies must act swiftly, and a strengthened UN climate deal must be agreed.
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