Renewable energy witnesses phenomenal growth globally, time to tackle climate change

Saturday June 20, 2015 , 3 min Read

The growth of renewable energy outpaced that of fossil fuels in the electricity sector last year, with a record 135 gigawatts of capacity added from wind, solar, hydropower and other natural sources, a new study shows. That’s more than the generating capacity of all nuclear reactors in the United States and slightly less than Germany’s installed capacity from all power sources.

The annual report released in Stockholm by Paris-based REN21, a non-profit group that promotes renewable energy, underscored how China, the world’s top consumer of coal, has become a global leader in clean energy, too. It also highlighted that while renewables now account for 28 per cent of the world’s electricity-generating capacity, they still account for only a tiny share of how we heat and cool buildings and fuel our means of transportation.

“The share of renewables in the power sector will continue to grow. We see that already, especially in emerging economies,” said Christine Lins, executive secretary of REN21. “But we need attention to the heating-cooling sector and transport,” he added.

Renewable energy’s share in all forms of energy consumption – currently about 10 per cent – will have to increase dramatically to fulfill the vision that President Barack Obama and other leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy economies endorsed last week. To fight climate change, they called for deep cuts in heat-trapping carbon emissions and all but eliminating them by the end of the century.

Meanwhile, global energy production must surge to meet the demands of developing economies and a growing world population. The fossil fuel industry and many energy experts say that can’t happen without fossil fuels, even in the electricity sector, where coal remains the top fuel.

“Renewables will grow but that doesn’t mean coal is going away,” said Benjamin Sporton, head of the World Coal Association. Sporton said India is commissioning 20GW of coal-fired power generation every year. “And they have a further 118GW under construction or approved,” he added.

Supporters of renewable energy say the world is already “decoupling” carbon emissions from economic growth, pointing to preliminary data from the International Energy Agency showing that carbon emissions from the energy sector didn’t rise last year even though the global economy grew by 3 per cent, according to PTI.

However, earlier this week the IEA said that, among other measures, investments in renewables need to increase from USD 270 billion last year to USD 400 billion in 2030 to support a transition to a low-carbon economy.

Image Credit : Shutterstock