The adoption of goals aiming for the achievement of 100% renewable energy (with regard to retail electricity) by the year 2050 could save the major economies of the world — the European Union, the United States, China — more than $500 billion a year (combined), according to a new study from the NewClimate Institute (commissioned by Climate Action Network).
As well as delivering huge savings in energy costs, the adoption of strong targets would result in the creation of millions of new jobs, according to the new work.
Also worth noting is that, according to the new work, if all countries adopted (and acted upon) such goals, then the anthropogenic temperature increase (global warming) could be limited to under the 2°C threshold that some researchers have marked as the point of no return as far as serious issues go.
(Author’s note: I’m not so convinced that the climate can be modelled to such a precise degree as to provide useful predictions in this regard. Yes, carbon dioxide and methane are greenhouse gases, yes the planet is warming, and yes people are implicated in that, but…. The climate is a very complex system, one not easily modelled or predicted to any precise degree. While it would be prudent from a ‘rational’ perspective to curtail greenhouse gas emissions (on a global level), what’s going to happen exactly is something of an open question. We’ll find out soon enough though — I expect to see significant issues arising from anthropogenic climate change within my lifetime.)
The new report comes as many countries are beginning to create their climate offers for upcoming (in December) UN climate talks — where, presumably, a new international agreement will be signed.
According to the new report, if the steps outlined for the EU, the US, and China in the new report are followed to the T, then around 3 million new jobs will be created by 2030; the deaths of two million people by air pollution related diseases will be prevented; and huge savings (of around $520 billion a year) will be afforded, owing to reduced fossil fuel imports.