139 Nations Could Transition To 100 Percent Renewable Energy By 2050: Study
Fossil fuels revolutionised the world, ushering in a new age of development, however, more than 100 years later, it’s evident that the benefits fossil fuels come at a price. As the supply of fossil fuels continues to deplete at alarming levels, the harmful effects of using fossil fuels are damaging the environment, increasing pollution, and the greenhouse effect. Countries around the world are now searching for more sustainable and environment-friendly sources of energy, such as solar energy and wind energy and other types of renewable energy.
According to researchers at the Stanford University and the other US and European Universities, 139 nations have the possibility to transition into 100 percent renewable energy use by 2050. The combination of renewable sources used by the nations may vary, but a majority of all the energy needs (94.7 percent) are predicted to be met by wind and solar power, while other sources include tidal and wave energy.
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The countries closest to achieving the 100 percent renewable energy target are: Tajikistan (76 percent), Paraguay (58.9 percent), Norway (35.8 percent), Sweden (20.7 percent), Costa Rica (19.1 percent), Switzerland (19 percent), Georgia (18.7 percent), Montenegro (18.4 percent), and Iceland (17.3 percent).
The study by the Solutions Project comes as a part of the campaign for 100 percent renewables launched by Hollywood actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo in 2015. The goal of the study aims to remove reliance on fossil fuels entirely by switching completely to renewable sources of energy.
Transferring to renewable sources of energy would reportedly meet the Paris Climate Change Agreement goal as well of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees C. In addition, the nearly 4.6 million deaths per year due to air pollution could also be averted.
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To reach the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy only, all vehicles would need to be electric and aircrafts to be fuelled by hydrogen. Apart from stopping the use of fossil fuels, even the use of nuclear power would need to be dropped as nuclear power requires the mining of uranium, but stopping the use of nuclear power itself would decrease the global energy demand by 12.65 percent.
Although a large number of nations are on the path of becoming 100 percent renewable energy based, since the largest economies of the nation have yet to take significant steps towards renewable energy sources, the desired result is still a way off.
Source: newsworldindia.in
