It costs $US50 billion to implement renewables, while oil imports cost 12 times more

Nov 9, 2011 07:09 GMT  ·  By
Total World Energy Generation until 2004. Officials expect things to change significantly until 2050.
   Total World Energy Generation until 2004. Officials expect things to change significantly until 2050.

The officials from the International Energy Agency (IEA) have just released The World Energy Outlook 2011, which offers a general view upon the energy issues which still await for the governments' intervention.

The report was meant to highlight the increasing and alarming fossil fuel dependency as well as the impact which its record, unstable price has upon the global economy.

Despite the fact that the path to renewable energy seems entirely safe, earth-friendly and approachable, the study reveals that we are not quite there yet.

The fact that more and more people depend on a limited amount of traditional resources will most likely trigger a growth of oil price during the next 20 years.

The costs of fossil resources will get out of control, and the same trajectory will be followed by the amount of CO2 emissions, which will be generated during coal-burning processes.

Despite that such a worst-case scenario doesn't quite rely on green values, officials from WWF manage to preserve their optimism, saying that an entirely green future, judging by the sources of power we would rely on, is quite achievable.

“WWF thinks that renewable energy is the future, and the key to true energy and climate security. The IEA assumes that by 2035, about half of all new power capacity will come from renewables. This is business as usual - we could get there from today’s trends. But as WWF’s Energy Report shows, we could get to 100% renewable by 2050,” have declared the officials from WWF.

Also, the report created by IEA highlights a disturbing connection between the usage of fossil fuel and the global warming phenomenon. The conduct of major players in the industry might make global temperatures increase, adding approximately 3.5ºC to the present value.

“The IEA has been a leader in highlighting the link between fossil fuels and climate change,” said Ms Smith. “We’d like to see it maintain this leadership, and focus more on a fully renewable energy future,” concluded the IEA representatives.

The report also suggest the fact that bringing renewables closer for the 3 billion people who need them might be actually cheaper than oil imports. The first process would cost $US50 billion annually, while bringing the amount of oil we need from foreign countries appears to be up to 12 times more expensive.