WorldWatch highlights four key synergies

Tackling climate change and a host of other global challenges will require systematic transformation of the global energy system over the next several decades, according to Renewable Revolution: Low-Carbon Energy by 2030, by Janet Sawin and William Moomaw.

The report, released by the Worldwatch Institute and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), highlights four key synergies between energy efficiency and renewable energy and argues that these two strategies, used in concert, can play a key role in meeting rising global demand for energy services while averting catastrophic climate change.

Jane Sawin, says: “A low-carbon energy revolution is not only necessary, but also entirely achievable. In this instance, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts: renewable energy and efficiency acting together can get us much farther than either can individually.”

Due to the inherent efficiency of most renewable energy technologies relative to fossil fuels, renewable energy does not need to replace fossil fuels exajoule for exajoule. An enormous amount of energy is wasted when converting fossil fuels to energy services such as light, heat, and mobility.

These losses can be side-stepped through the use of renewable energy, providing the same level of energy services with far less primary energy. In turn, improvements in energy efficiency make it easier, cheaper, and faster for renewables to achieve a large share of total energy production, while also rapidly reducing greenhouse gases and other emissions associated with energy use.

Co-author William Moomaw, points out: “Humanity can prevent catastrophic climate change if we act now and adopt policies that unleash the full potential of these resources.”

But this goal is not likely to be achieved if our only measure of success is emissions reductions. Climate change is fundamentally a development issue, not a pollution problem. No one benefits from the release of greenhouse gas emissions, but developed and developing nations alike will benefit in numerous ways from the transition to an energy-efficient and renewable world.”

For more than a decade, solar power, wind power, and other renewable technologies have experienced double-digit annual growth rates. Renewables technologies are already enabling Germany, Spain, Sweden, the United States, and several other countries to avoid carbon dioxide emissions. And in recent years, several communities have successfully transitioned from fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy, or are well on their way.

“Each of these communities has taken its own path, but all have shared a major emphasis on improving energy efficiency in concert with a dramatic ramp-up in renewables,” says Sawin. “For the world to avoid catastrophic climate change and an insecure economic future, this transition must be accelerated, with success stories scaled up and strategies shared across national boundaries.”

Co-authors Sawin and Moomaw find that this is the only way that degradation of the climate system can be halted and is the only real option for raising billions of people out of poverty.

Photos show co-authors Janet Sawin and William Moomaw.

More information: www.worldwatch.org