The Stone Age did not end because of lack of stones, but because better alternatives were found. The fossil fuel era will end when better alternatives are available. It’s happening now. We have the means, the technology and know what to do.
The technology is here, and fast developing. According to the UN, it is surprisingly cheap to transition to renewable energy and phase out the fossil fuel society. Renewable energy is still only marginal. We now must prepare for a rapid, exponential growth. Renewables should at least take 50% of the global energy mix by 2030. According to Bloomberg (2017), “by 2040, zero-emission energy sources will make up 60% of installed capacity. Wind and solar will account for 64% of the 8.6TW of new power generating capacity added worldwide over the next 25 years, and for almost 60% of the $11.4 trillion invested”. However, this will be far from enough to keep within the 2 degrees goal. To reach the Paris agreement and keep within 1,5 degree global warming, much more investments in renewable energies are needed.
If we fail, we are heading for irreversible impacts.
A trainee technician uses a multimeter to measure the output of a solar panel he has made. Nango solar, Kisumu, Kenya. Poor countries can leap-frog into renewable energy and skip the oil-age. Photo: B. Cameron
At the beginning of 2016, the fossil fuel industry faces an unprecedented crisis — from collapsing prices, a new global climate deal, and an ever-growing movement calling for change.
We have never had a better chance in history to break free from fossil fuels and build a just transition to clean and renewable energy.
Fighting climate change requires the courage to confront polluters where they think they are most powerful.
The world is becoming dangerously hotter by the day. Through peaceful direct action across the globe we can demonstrate to those in power that people everywhere are prepared to resist the fossil fuel industry’s plans to wreck the planet. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. Let’s seize it. Breakfree2016
Read more
- 100% Clean Energy is 100% Possible
- How Renewables In Developing Countries Are Leapfrogging Traditional Power
- The future of energy according to Elon Musk and Akon – distributed renewable power “leapfrog” 20th century brown energy grids in developing countries (May 2016)
- Trump can’t stop the clean energy revolution (Bloomberg Nov 2016)
- New Energy Outlook (NEO) is Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s annual long-term view of how the world’s power markets will evolve in the future (Bloomberg, 2017)
- China Leaves U.S. in Dust With $361 Billion Renewable Energy Investment (Jan 2017)
- 5 Charts Trump Must See Before He Takes Office (Jan 2017)
- Renewables account for nearly 90% of new power in Europe (Feb 2017)
- Worldwide Shift to Renewable Energy Played ‘Critical Role’ in Stalling Carbon Emissions (March 2016)
- Germany’s Grid: Renewables-Rich and Rock-Solid (Sept 2014)
- Will the Carbon-Free Power Plant of the Future Look Like a Giant Sponge?
- Google: $1 billion Investment In Alternative Energy
- 100% sun, wind, and water can power each U.S. state and the world –Stanford stud
- Expert Says We Can Reduce Fossil Fuel Use 80% With Existing Technology
- Pathways to deep decarbonisation (SDSN & IDDRI, 2014)
- UK Scientist Unveils Plan to Make Renewables Cheaper Than Coal Within 10 Years
- Nicolas Meilhan – énergie du future-Université d’été 2014
- The language of sustainability (The Guardian)
- How California Could Power Itself Using Nothing but Renewables
- Baseload power is a myth: even intermittent renewables will work
- 5 New Realities That Will Determine the Future of Energy
- Richard Branson and Amory Lovins Join Forces to Accelerate Clean Energy Revolution
- Sustainable Energy Revolution Grows, Says Bloomberg Report (Feb 2015)
- India’s Huge Commitment to Renewable Energy Provides ‘Gift to the World’
- Lester Brown: The Great Energy Transition to Solar and Wind Is Underway
- Renewables Beat Fossil Fuels Second Year in a Row
- A Clean Energy Future: Why It Pays to Get There First (July 2015)
- Carbon Emissions Falling Fast as Wind and Solar Replace Fossil Fuels (Aug 2015)
- Electric cars produce lower global warming emissions than the average compact gasoline-powered vehicle (UCS, 2014)
- Energy game changers look to the future. Researchers now know how to keep the whole of the US powered by wind, water and sunlight without ever needing to fall back
- Tesla’s Elon Musk simplifies how dumb our oil dependency is
- Over to renewables – NOW
- Renewable energy
- The Real Drivers of a Low Carbon Future: China and India (April 2016)
- A warmer policy for a colder climate: Can China both reduce poverty and cap carbon emissions? (June 2016)
- Big companies turn to renewables
- General Motors joins RE100 campaign and commits to 100% renewable electricity by 2050
- From Global Temps to Clean Energy, Broken Records Define the Climate Crisis
Global average temperatures are hitting record highs—but so is renewable energy. - European Commission publishes latest energy, transport and emission projections in EU Reference Scenario 2016
- 23 States to Rely on Geothermal, Solar, or Wind Power as a Primary Source of Electric Generation in 2016 (sept 2016)
- 7 Charts Show New Renewables Outpacing Rising Demand for First Time (Sept 2016)
- Converting Carbon Dioxide Back to Ethanol is Now Possible
- Boone, NC Passes Historic Resolution: Ditch Fossil Fuels, Go 100% Clean Energy (Dec 2016)
- Tesla’s Future in Trump’s World- Elon Musk is up against a starkly different agenda, but the energy transition he invigorated can’t be stopped (Bloomberg, Dec. 2016)
- World Energy Hits a Turning Point: Solar That’s Cheaper Than Wind
Emerging markets are leapfrogging the developed world thanks to cheap panels (Bloomberg, Dec. 2016) - Fossil fuels investment takes nosedive (2016)
- Here’s How We Can Power 100% of the World With Renewable Energy (Jan 2017)
- Tesla Flips Switch on Gigafactory to Accelerate World’s Transition to Renewable Energy (Jan 2017)
- The Electric vehicle: Let’s Look at the Facts in Automotive Mobility; There is Not Knowing and then there is Knowing, Which is Better for U! (Jan 2017)
- Cheap Electric Cars and Solar Technology Could Stop Growth in Fossil Fuel Demand Starting in 2020 (Feb 2017)
- Electric car sales predictions are all over the map (Feb 2017)
- States Lead the Way Toward 100% Renewable Energy (Feb 2017)
- Emissions flat for third year running as economy boom continues (March 2017)
- Electric cars and cheap solar could halt fossil fuel growth by 2020 (March 2017)
- London-Paris electric flight ‘in decade’ (March 2017)
- A roadmap for rapid decarbonization (Science, March 2017)
- China, India plans for electric cars threaten to cut gasoline demand (May 2017)
- Germany just broke its own energy record and generated 85% of electricity from renewables (May 2017)
- Sempra VP Surprises, Says 100 Percent Renewable Grid Is Possible Now (May 2017)
- Pretty Soon Electric Cars Will Cost Less Than Gasoline (Bloomberg, May 2017)
- India to sell only electric cars by 2030 (June 2017)
- This Is How Big Oil Will Die (July 2017)
Next
| Home | Chapter 5 | 5 Green economy |
| Chapter 6 | 6 Greener future? | |
| 6.1 Green technology | ||
| 6.1.1 Solar | ||
| 6.1.2 Wind | ||
| 6.1.3 Renewable energy | ||
| 6.1.4 Energy storage | ||
| 6.1.5 Geo-engineering | ||
| 6.2 Ecological footprint | ||
| 6.3 Greener law? | ||
| 6.4 Greener business? | ||
| 6.5 Greener architecture? | ||
| 6.6 Greener tourism | ||
