The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change did not mince its words: its report published at the weekend was “the final call”, it said. Keeping to the target of 1.5C of temperature increase above pre-industrial levels will mean “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society”. Here is how the EBRD sees tackling emissions. First, we should double the volume of electricity the world uses to decarbonise sectors otherwise hard to abate, such as transport, heating and industry. Second, we should generate more than 70 per cent of that electricity from low-carbon renewable sources, primarily wind and solar photovoltaic. The good news is that this challenge is finally affordable. Too often we hear, in both developing and developed markets, that renewable energy is too costly because of the subsidies it receives. This was true when the nascent renewables market needed protection – but no longer. Even in emerging markets, it is time to introduce competition. Those who have done so have achieved dramatic results. Renewables are now cost-competitive with fossil fuels in many parts of the world, even taking into account the subsidies that continue to prop up power generation from fossil fuels.
FT 9th Oct 2018 read more »
Renewables will provide almost a third of the world’s electricity in five years’ time, a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said. The share of energy used across power, heating and transport that comes from renewables will rise by a fifth over five years to 12.4 per cent in 2023, with progress speeding up compared to the previous five years.
Scotsman 9th Oct 2018 read more »