How you can drown out coal
2020 saw the highest rate of electricity powered by renewable energy on record, so much so that renewable energy actually out-produced its fossil fuel competitors (Murdock, Hannah E. et.al, 2020). This is fantastic news and we must treat is as such.
Doom and gloom coupled with ‘We should be doing more!!’ are unhelpful condiments to an otherwise appealing plate of statistics.
The think tank, Ember, estimate that from 2013 to 2019 the growth in global demand for wind and solar more than doubled, from 3% to 8% (Ember, 2020).
Yes, I agree these numbers are still shamefully low (and we should be doing more). However, look at it objectively, take the numbers out and look at the rate of increase; over doubling in demand in around 5 years. That is a seismic shift in any industry.
This should be praised. If your child begins to eat their vegetables more than half the time they used to, you wouldn’t chastise them for not doing it all the time, would you?
No, you would encourage them to continue this new upward trend towards a ‘green’ future.
Governing bodies, governments and policy makers need to be encouraged into bed with renewables and praised for their recent escapades into the sheets with wind and solar in particular.
The need for this encouragement is paramount in light of the socio-economic potholes left in the road to a renewable future by COVID-19.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) show that in 2020 global investment in power fell to its lowest in a decade (IEA, 2020). With a lack of investment comes a short-sighted strategy for many. Fossil fuel use.
The UK government is flirting dangerously with the idea of opening a new coal mine in cumbria, a prospect indicative of the desperate state the UK and global economies are in.
So, how can you play a part in stopping this short-sighted and damaging approach from happening? How can you drive the continuation of our affair with renewable energy?
It’s simple, but renewable.
The most effective pathway to mitigating the damage of fossil fuels as well as to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C is to reduce the global market share of coal to 8%, from is current share of more than 30% (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2019).
The power to achieve this is in your hands. The energy sector is predominately dictated through a simple supply and demand framework. If we drive up the demand for renewable energy the supply will rise and, subsequently, we will drown out coal.
So, what are you waiting for? I challenge you to have made a step towards making your home sustainable by this time next week.
Through my journey to the North Pole I will be championing sustainability as well as renewable energy. My aim is to catapult anyone who engages with the expedition towards a sustainable lifestyle, even if it is just one simple change.
I’ll be collecting data to illustrate the need for change and partnering with companies offering the solution to the problems.
COVID-19 is doing its best to scupper all the plans. However, we are still on track and I will not quit until I reach the Pole!