06 July 2007 - International
— US$180 billion. That's the massive amount
of money the world could save by moving
to a renewable energy future. The Future
Investment report demonstrates that a safe
renewable energy future would not only cut
our global CO2 emissions from the electricity
sector in half by 2030, it would also cost
10 times less than a ‘business as usual’
fossil-fuel future would.
By shifting global investments to renewable
energy (including solar, wind, hydro, geothermal
and bio energy), within the next 23 years,
and away from dirty and dangerous coal and
nuclear power, we can save a massive US$180
billion a year.
So we face a simple but crucial choice:
we can either invest in over 10,000 new
polluting coal and gas power plants, which
would double fuel costs and increase C02
emissions by more than 50 percent. Or we
can choose a safe renewable energy future,
producing 70 percent of the world’s electricity
from our planet’s natural resources.
By doing this we would not only save money
but also cut CO2 emissions from the electricity
sector in half by 2030.
What to do with all that money
We asked Action Aid what development needs
could be done with the US$180 billion a
year savings. They told us that it is the
exact amount needed in extra aid to reach
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
by their target date of 2015.
The goals are to eradicate extreme poverty
and hunger; universal primary education;
gender equality and women’s empowerment;
reduce child mortality; improve maternal
health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other
diseases; ensure environmental sustainability;
and develop a global partnership for development.
Under our renewable energy future, part
of the Energy [R]evolution the world urgently
needs to curb catastrophic climate change,
the savings would be enough to reach these
most basic goals for human need and development.
The maths as well as the choice is simple.
The poorest paying the price
It is the poorest people in the world who
are already suffering the devastating effects
of climate change, and who stand to lose
the most if we do not take urgent action
now. The costs of a ‘business as usual’
scenario go much deeper than pure economics.
How, for example, do you put a price on
a Pacific Islander finding their home is
sinking?
The developing world has contributed the
least to the climate change we already see
today, and yet are paying by far the highest
price. By embracing the Energy [R]evolution,
we can start to make some amends..
It’s so simple, and so essential, the extra
investment of $22 billion needed in renewables
to achieve the Energy [R]evolution is easy
to obtain if we convert the massive subsidies
of $250 billion a year that coal and gas
receive to clean, safe energy from the world’s
natural resources.
Governments must listen to the voices of
the billions of people engaging with Live
Earth and make the right decisions NOW.
In the next decade, many existing power
plants will need replacing, and emerging
economies such as China, India and Brazil
are rapidly building new energy infrastructure.
The UN Environment Programme says of our
report that “it is just the kind of publication
that will strike a thoughtful chord with
the expert and the novice in the field of
renewable energy. I am sure it will spark
even greater interest and action towards
a more sustainable, climate friendly, energy
mix and allow renewables to achieve their
full and very exciting potential.”
The market for wind energy grew by a massive
36 percent in 2006, and the total renewable
energy sector would be worth a massive US$288
billion by 2030 if we take the Energy Revolution
pathway. The renewable energy industry is
willing and able to deliver the power plants
the world needs, we must just make the right
choices now!
