Climate change is a serious threat to humanity as a whole, which intensifies the urgency to shift our energy sources towards something more sustainable. The question of sustainability and renewable energy rose in popularity in the early 21st century. Yet, humanity’s demand for energy massively surpasses the supply of renewable energy, with only 24% of global energy consumption coming from renewable sources.
The major push of creating renewable energy does not come from countries such as Norway, New Zealand, Colombia and Brazil, however, for they have pushed for these initiatives well in advance. The new trend of renewable energy is being propelled by the heavy polluters such as China and India, who are seeking to create renewable energy from sources such as solar, wind and hydro. According to National Renewable Energy Laboratory released 2015 Renewable Energy Data Book, China is 2nd in biomass energy creation, 1st in wind energy creation, 1st in solar energy creation and 1st in hydro energy creation in the world. China is currently dominating the conversation surrounding renewable energy sources, the production of infrastructure such as solar panels, and the consumption of such infrastructure; thus leading the global transition towards renewable energy.
As India is becoming one of the world’s largest economies, it plans to rapidly shift from non-renewable energy sources to renewable energy sources. “Solar PV and wind together represent 90% of India’s capacity growth as auctions yielded some of the world’s lowest prices for both technologies”, as stated in the 2017 publication by International Energy Agency. International Energy Agency predicts that within a few years, India’s demand for Solar PV and wind could become similar to that of the United States, making it the joint second largest market after China.
Currently, only 15% of India’s energy comes from renewable sources because the demand for energy is increasing at a higher rate than the government’s or private entities capacity to install infrastructure capable of creating renewable energy. According to Niti Action Agenda, an India think tank stated that 100 gigawatts by March 2020 of renewable energy is an ambitious goal for India and its goal for March 2022 should be to create 175 gigawatts of renewable energy. Additionally, by 2022 India is expected to double more than its current renewable energy capacity, making its growth forecast period higher than that compared to the European Union.
The increase of renewable energy is occurring in countries of rapid economic growth and development because those countries are directly shifting their energy needs to renewable energy sources, rather than initially establishing themselves with non-renewable energy sources such as United States and the UK. One of the largest solar energy producing countries is Italy with 8% of its total energy derived from solar. Most of the largest solar energy producing countries are located in European Union and in South America.
It’s time to address the “elephant” in the room, meaning the 45th President of the United States, Mr. Donald Trump. He is against the notion of climate change and once tweeted, that it was a hoax created by China in order to suppress American manufacturing industries. Additionally, he has been supporting coal production by weakening environmental regulations related to coal mining, reducing the health and safety regulations for miner’s working conditions and placing tariffs on renewable energy tools such as solar panels. Additionally, Trump has pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord of 2015, weakened the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), hired climate change deniers and former employees of major petrochemical companies such as Rex Tillerson, as his Secretary of State.
Despite the pushbacks and trials created by the executive branch of the United States, renewable energy is growing rapidly due to the support of the free market. By 2022, International Energy Agency estimates that the United States will produce 13% of its total energy from renewable sources.
Whatever the political, social and economic conditions are in the future, we must remember to keep fighting for the sustainability of our planet. A way to create a sustainable planet is by switching to renewable energy sources. If that is not possible for you than than you can make an effort to conserve energy where you can.
By Abdeali Saherwala
Please note that opinions expressed are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views and values of The Blank Page
