Renewable energy is the best solution to the climate crisis towards a sustainable world
Tawhidul Alam
The important factor here is to increase that reliance are elimination of trade barriers, and costs associated with establishing renewable technologies
In the face of clear evidence like rising sea levels, increase in global temperature and natural disasters showing that our climate is getting deteriorated by global carbon emissions, one of the major alternatives to fossil fuel can be renewable energy like solar power, wind power, and biomass resources. Many countries around the world are becoming increasingly dependent on renewable power resources and enacting policies together with required structures. Even countries like Germany, China, Japan and United states are pioneering to show their political commitments towards renewable energy. The governments of these countries have realized the fact that they can’t stop climate change impacts if they continue to support coal, gas and oil by subsidizing. They must include the expansion of clean energy technology as well as increase their reliance on renewable energy resources in their best interests. One of the key findings in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy is that renewable energy resources will be able to supply 80% of total U.S. electricity generated to meet demand of all regions within 2050.
The important factors here is to increase that reliance are elimination of trade barriers, and costs associated with establishing renewable technologies. A report from the world energy council shows that the costs of renewable technologies such as Wind and solar, are gradually decreasing to make those competitive with fossil fuels. Advanced nanotechnology is shrinking the size of the solar cells, making it possible to install solar systems in far lower costs. Millions of people across Africa are now using home solar panel systems to generate clean electricity at cheaper costs. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), approximately 60 out of 600 million people in Africa have been able to use affordable solar energy systems. This huge number of people is still living off-grid and tends to be a large market for renewable energy business. The organization further elaborated that innovative technology along with financial assistance can boost to increase the number and predict that the cost of electricity generation from this renewable energy source will be decreased to 60 percent in the next 20 years.
No one can deny this truth that fossil fuels did severe damage to our planet by impacting air, water, human and animal health, land, and overall atmosphere. Coal and gas extraction emitted millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere resulting in global warming. We know that the emission is still continuing and we must stop it at any cost. Otherwise, the temperature of the earth will increase to the extent of 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-Industrial times that experts think is enough to cause great problems like recurrent floods, drought and ultimately food insecurity. Even, millions of people might starve to death!
However, dependency on burning fossil fuels will not stop altogether until or unless we can replace those with renewable energy resources. Some groups recommend Nuclear Power as alternative energy sources to the climate crisis, but nuclear power plants are capital intensive and technologically complex. There may arise an unmanageable socio-political risk of using these plants for both the governments and organizations. Sometimes, the toxic wastes from Nuclear power plants may cause catastrophic incidents creating immense impact on the surrounding environment and communities. The cost of such failures is so high. So, the best option is again renewable energy. Energy sources such as biomass, hydropower, solar and wind power has less impact on the environment and cost less than fossil fuels and nuclear powers. It is, therefore, a critical step to embrace renewable power resources through all possible means if we want to save our planet from the emerging threat of global warming.
Featured image: Feeling the heat Masdar Official/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA
