Clean energy investments are still going right on track as a viable new source of energy despite current events seemingly plunging the world’s economy into the worst recession since World War II. This has seen an increase from $45 billion in 2004 to $279.8 billion in 2017.
Statista’s report shows a cost reduction of solar photovoltaics, following the paradigm of more capacity for lesser installation prices. This just shows the possibility for green energy, such as wind and solar energy, to become even more cost-competitive. Given the situation that developing countries are considering adopting wind and solar power on a wider scale, this sector might contribute greatly in boosting the global economy post-COVID-19 (aka, the “new normal”).
Green energy could drive Covid-19 recovery with $100tn boost https://t.co/UqRSUDRhrO
— Jillian Ambrose (@JH_Ambrose) April 20, 2020
Investing in clean energy
From 2018 to 2019, annual investment in clean energy sources and technology increased by 0.22 percent, from $363.3 billion to $362.5 billion U.S. dollars. As such, companies like Tesla are potentially entering the market, which brings a few questions into mind. These revolve around the idea of when this new source of energy will become the forefront representative of our day-to-day and if it will ever take a step back.
Chief executive of the World Resources Institute, Dr. Andrew Steer, has expressed that we have to invest in clean energy. He stated that “As the world looks to recover from the current health and economic crises, we face a choice: we can pursue a modern, clean, healthy energy system, or we can go back to the old, polluting ways of doing business. We must choose the former.”
We're LIVE from #WorldEnvironmentDay 2020 host country Colombia with President @IvanDuque, @andersen_inger, Ricardo Lozano of @MinAmbienteCo, Svenja Schulze of @bmu, @CFigueres, Klaus Schwab of @wef, @MorenoBID & @AndrewSteerWRI @infopresidencia #ForNature https://t.co/2I0jsVWuoX
— UN Environment Programme (@UNEP) June 5, 2020
Forecasting a cleaner future
The increased policy support for renewable sources, acceleration of the industry, and rise of publicly listed companies that own renewable energy assets (also known as yieldcos) have factored in the steady rise of clean technology investments. This doesn’t mean that there is a clear prediction as to what will happen by the end of 2020 yet.
However, judging from the crash of fossil fuel prices, there might be at least a stable if not positive trend for clean energy investments. It was not too long ago when policies, lobbying, and the general public didn’t consider clean technology as a viable source of energy. Numbers today tell a different story. It is in the best interest of humanity as a whole to pursue this alternative today, for the future of this planet and its inhabitants.
Photo credits: The feature photo has been taken by the Bureau of Land Management.
Sources: Statista / The World Bank / Statista / Jilian Ambrose (The Guardian) / Statista / Ed Clowes and Olivia Rudgard (The Telegraph) / Jason Deign (Greentech Media) / Jilian Ambrose (The Guardian)
