The big news is that worldwide we are making faster progress on the clean energy front than most of us realize, according to a recent New York Times article, “The Clean Energy Future Is Arriving Faster Than You Think”. We have a long way to go in a short amount of time, but our progress thus far should be reassuring and motivating!
Progress towards this clean energy transformation is moving at a nonlinear, or exponential, rate of change. Graphs in the NY Times article show exponential growth curves in the use of wind and solar energy, and dramatic declines in renewable energy costs. According to the executive director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, “Clean energy is moving faster than many people think, and it’s become turbocharged lately.”
While the world has finally “slowed the pace at which emissions are growing worldwide”, we are already at record levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We need this rate of exponential growth in clean energy production, and we need to support that momentum however we can.
One of the most interesting stories in the article is how much of this energy shift in the United States is occurring in Republican-led states, where two-thirds of new U.S. clean energy investment is happening. While government subsidies have played a big role (just as they have historically for oil and gas), technological advances and plummeting costs are driving a lot of the momentum toward clean energy in the U.S. and worldwide.
As one solar power business owner in Tulsa said, “The environmental benefits are nice…but most people are doing this for the financial opportunity.” As the prices of wind, solar, and batteries continue to go down, and tax breaks and subsidies go up, it just makes financial sense to embrace clean energy. An 83% drop in the price of solar since 2009 is hard to ignore, as is a 97% drop for lithium-ion batteries over three decades.
Also noteworthy is China’s progress. In fact, China is outperforming other countries worldwide in its investments in clean energy production, having spent $546 billon in 2022. China is still the world’s top polluter, due in part to its huge population, so it is critical that the Chinese expedite their energy transformation. Thankfully, China is predicted to double its wind and solar capacity by 2025–five years ahead of its earlier target date.
Although the United States has been the world’s top emissions producer historically, and we remain one of the top emissions producers per capita, we are also making significant progress. This year the U.S. is on track to produce 23% of its energy from renewable sources (up 10% from 10 years ago) as the rate of renewable energy production increases rapidly here and around the world. The U.S. has also played an important role of late with the passage of three key laws* which are inspiring other nations to enhance incentives and regulations.
Last year’s Inflation Reduction Act has had a direct impact here at home as U.S. investments for a new green economy “are pouring in: $110b in private investment, 51 new or expanded plants for producing solar panels, 91 new factories for making batteries and about 170,000 clean energy jobs”, according to the Bloomberg Green news outlet.
I’ve touched on just a few of the New York Times article‘s key points in this quick overview. I encourage you to read it in full for much more information and inspiration. And take a look at the shorter Bloomberg piece while you’re at it!
*The three key U.S. laws are: the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (2021), the CHIPS and Science Act (2022), and the Inflation Reduction Act (2022). I look forward to sharing more news on the impact of these laws here in the U.S.
Sources:
The New York Times – The Clean Energy Future Is Arriving Faster Than You Think (08/17/2023)
Bloomberg Green – Here’s Some Good News About the Planet for a Change (10/16/2023)
Our World in Data – Who Has Contributed Most to Global CO2 Emissions?
Our World In Data – Where in the World Do People Emit the Most CO2?
3 Responses
Finally some encouraging news! Thank you for summarizing and sharing this info. Everything always sounds so disheartening that this is truly a breath of fresh (clean) air and an inspiration.
Glad to share some reason for hope!
I’m late to the gate, but ditto to your October comments. Always good to read hopeful news on this important front. Plus, unexpected good news from China!