Some countries are doing better than others in the quest to dump fossil fuels and build a sustainable future. The UCL Institute for Global Prosperity has highlighted some nations as being "green trailblazers".
Costa Rica |
Uruguay |
Iceland |
New Zealand |
In 2015, Costa Rica was able to generate electricity for 75 days without using fossil fuels. Renewable energy now generates 99% of Costa Rica's electricity. Success comes from strong investment in hydroelectricity. |
Renewables provide almost 95% of Uruguay’s electricity. The country uses wind energy, hydro, biomass and solar. This means that Uruguay has a diverse range of renewable energy supplies. |
Geothermal power and hydropower produces just about all of Iceland's electricity. Icelandic geothermal technology has great potential to be used in other hotspots such as the African Rift Valley. |
Hydropower produces 80% of New Zealand’s electricity. New Zealand is not alone, hydropower is the biggest source of renewable energy in the world. |
Wind farm, California (Photo: Dave Parker)
Over 43 percent of all new power in 2013 was from renewable sources, such as as wind and solar. This figure does not even include power generated by large dams. This good news comes from the Frankfurt School-UNEP Centre in Germany. The global trend is towards a sustainable energy future.
By 2016, according to the International Energy Agency, renewable energy will be a bigger source of energy than gas. In 2018, the IEA predicts that renewables will account for a quarter of the world's energy production.
China leads the world in investing in renewable energy - $56 billion in 2013, compared to only $36 billion in the USA. In Japan, there has been a massive 80 percent increase in investment for solar power to compensate for the demise of its nuclear programme.
The cost of both wind power and solar power have fallen significantly over the past five years. There has been a 25 percent decrease in the cost of photovoltaic systems. At the same time, the cost of wind power has plummeted by 53 percent.
Overall, in 2013, renewable energy was responsible for preventing 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Hopefully, this is a step in the right direction towards a sustainable future that buys time to adapt to climate change.
By 2016, according to the International Energy Agency, renewable energy will be a bigger source of energy than gas. In 2018, the IEA predicts that renewables will account for a quarter of the world's energy production.
China leads the world in investing in renewable energy - $56 billion in 2013, compared to only $36 billion in the USA. In Japan, there has been a massive 80 percent increase in investment for solar power to compensate for the demise of its nuclear programme.
The cost of both wind power and solar power have fallen significantly over the past five years. There has been a 25 percent decrease in the cost of photovoltaic systems. At the same time, the cost of wind power has plummeted by 53 percent.
Overall, in 2013, renewable energy was responsible for preventing 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Hopefully, this is a step in the right direction towards a sustainable future that buys time to adapt to climate change.
