A new study has finally put a dollar value on a renewable energy future. According to a new report commissioned by the Climate Action Network, if the US, the European Union and China started taking the steps towards using 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, they’d save a combined US$500 billion per year.
On top of that, moving in that direction would save the lives of around 1.3 million people who are killed prematurely by air pollution, and also create 3 million new jobs by 2030. And if that’s not enough reason, the study also predicted that if all countries started moving towards the 100 percent renewable target, global warming would not cross the 2 degrees Celsius threshold that many scientists believes is the ‘point of no return’ for climate change.
Currently, the European Union aims to get at least 40 percent of its emissions below 1990 levels by 2030. The US is committed to getting its emission down to 28 percent below 2005 levels, and China has promised to obtain 30 percent of its power from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030. If the countries manage to stick to these goals, they’ll collectively prevent around 113,000 air-pollution deaths, save at least US$ 33 billion and create 1 million jobs – which is pretty impressive.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that we now have the technology needed to stop depending on fossil fuels, we just need to encourage politicians and businesses it’s the right thing to do. And hopefully reports like this one will help. After all, the future is already here.