Report: World could end fossil fuel use by 2090
(Read article summary)Greenpeace's Energy [R]evolution report, released Monday, outlines how solar power, wind farms, geothermal stations, and biofuels could meet all of the world's energy needs by the final decade of this century.
Eighty-two years from now, as Guns N' Roses releases its seventh studio album and the events of "Leprechaun 4: In Space" take place, humanity could, if it so desires, belch out its very last puff of fossil-fuel emissions.
At least that's what a new report by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council says. Their Energy [R]evolution report, released Monday, outlines how solar power, wind farms, geothermal stations, and biofuels could meet all of the world's energy needs by the final decade of this century.
Getting started would cost a pretty penny – $14.7 trillion by 2030, according to the study. But according to the International Energy Agency, the world will spend $11.3 trillion on energy investments anyway, with a much greater focus on coal, oil, and nuclear power.
That's still 30 percent less, but the study argues that the difference would be more than made up for by slashing $18 trillion in fuel costs and creating a $360-billion-per-year industry. Additionally, the report says that the extra expense is justified given the costs – both economic and human – of global warming.
Greenpeace said that, in these tough financial times, a green energy revolution would be a smart move for the economy and for the planet.
With 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. While ‘business as usual’ energy scenarios come at the cost of the climate and the economy, the Energy [R]evolution makes a clear case for ‘business as unusual’. The renewable industry is ready and able to deliver the needed capacity to make the energy revolution a reality. There is no technical impediment to doing this, just a political barrier to overcome as we rebuild the global energy sector.
