“Amnesty International and Greenpeace International: Greenpeace´s 2015 Energy (R)evolution scenario proposes a pathway to a 100% sustainable energy supply based on renewable energy by showing how it is possible to drastically reduce CO2 emissions as climate science demands, and make redundant new oil exploration in the Arctic and deep sea waters such as off the coast of Brazil.” (Joint Statement: Greenpeace – Amnesty International. December 8th 2015).
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Note from author: As mentioned in one of my earlier posts upon climate change, renewable energy sources (RES) derive energy from sunshine, wind, ocean and/or geothermal heat. Despite of some of the opposition these sources of energy face, such as wind energy turbines killing birds in their natural environment, RES cause less damage to the environment and pose less risks than the burning of fossil fuels (coal), oil drilling and nuclear energy. Harnessing energy from the sun is so powerful that we could power the whole world by harnessing 1% of solar energy in the Sahara alone. (Forbes. September 22nd 2016). In some countries, for example in the United Arab Emirates, citizens who generate their own solar energy at home can now sell residual solar energy back to the grid IRENA: Renewable Energy Market Analysis in The GCC Region, 2016
According to the World Energy Council (resources 2016 summary), oil is currently still the world´s leading fuel, with 32,9% of total global energy consumption, natural gas with currently 22% market share, wind energy 7%, and coal providing 40% of total global electricity. Hydropower is currently the leading RES, with up to 71% of all renewable electricity by the end of 2015.
Solar energy, on the other hand, as this article from CleanTechnica on June 12th, 2015, states, now has increased to around 1% of current global electricity consumption, a yet tiny share taking into consideration the immense potential provided to us through the sun alone.
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Anne-Maria Yritys 