Most of us want to heal this world and bring it back to the healthiest condition. However, most of us also do not have any idea on how to make it happen. Not because there is no choice to be made, but because there are so many choices to choose from without good calculation.
Is not it ironic that we have so many choices of how to heal this planet but our own confusion results in we choose none? One of the reasons why it happens is because we want to do the most effective methods, but with the least energy and resources consumption.
While reducing the energy and resources consumption alone is not enough because most of the time it would give less effective result. Do not worry about it, because scientists have calculated which method give the most effective result with least efforts.
Therefore, here in this article, we are going to talk about the solution.
The Calculation
Researchers at Oxford University took the matter seriously and did a detailed calculation on how to save this planet in the most effective way. As a result, the calculation showed that converting to renewable energy is the best method.
Not just one of the best methods, but it is literally the best method. According to the researchers, ending the consumption of fossil fuel by 2050 would help to save us a lot of money, more than $12 trillion or around 11.3 trillion euros!
But wait, isn’t converting to green energy is expensive especially in this difficult economy? Professor Doyne Farmer, who led the study got rid of that wild and unbased assumption in an instant once he finished the calculation.
“There is a pervasive misconception that switching to clean, green energy will be painful, costly and mean sacrifices for us all – but that’s just wrong. Renewable costs have been trending down for decades,” he said.
“They are already cheaper than fossil fuels in many situations, and our research shows they will become cheaper than fossil fuels across almost all applications in the years to come,” Professor Farmer confidently stated.
How The Calculation May Affect Us
While that was what expert said, how will the result of the calculation directly affect us? In short, the way it can affect us is when we directly participate in the change. We need to convert our energy consumption into the greener one ourselves.
Today, the price of green renewable energy is much lower compared to previous years, and technology supporting the conversion into it also has dropped price. In example, the cost of electric cars and solar panels are already much lower nowadays.
It is not necessary for us to convert into Tesla or other kinds of luxurious renewable energy machines. We can start from planting solar panels in our homes so that we can light up our night lamps without consuming fossil-fueled energy.
As an encouragement to convert, the researchers have calculated that on average the price of wind and solar power have dropped for around 10% a year. And because of that, the production of solar energy has increased by averagely 44% a year and wind energy has increased by 23% a year.
If that still sound so little, for your information, the number come from data collected in the past 30 years! It means that the price of both energies has dropped significantly and will keep on dropping as time goes by.
Cheap Renewable Energy System
Renewable energy system is now considered as the rising star of energy generation. Not only because it is cheaper, but also because it harms our planet in far less ways compared to its fossil fuel counterpart.
But do not underestimate the power of its cheapness, because it attracts a lot of investors and users. In other words, when the price of this renewable energy is cheaper, more people would want to convert and as a result our planet would receive less harm compared to if we stay consuming fossil fuel.
“2022 is a stark example of just how economically viable new renewable power generation has become. Renewable power frees economies from volatile fossil fuel prices and imports, curbs energy costs and enhances market resilience – even more so if today’s energy crunch continues,” Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA said.
“While a temporary crisis response might be necessary in the current situation, excuses to soften climate goals will not hold mid-to-long-term. Today’s situation is a devastating reminder that renewables and energy saving are the future,” he continued.
And more amazingly, what happens nowadays is like what researchers predicted. The price of fossil fuel keeps soaring and it makes a lot of people stressful to cope with fuel prices. Having a better and cheaper alternative from renewables sound really good now, isn’t it?
Start Now!
So, when is the best time to convert into renewables? Should we wait for the price to go far cheaper in the future? No. The best time to convert into renewables is as soon as possible, or if you can do it now then start now.
By starting from now, we can save more money instead of just waiting for the price to go cheaper. By not converting as soon as possible, we would still rely on the expensive fossil fuel which not only harm our wallet but also our planet.
Governments of countries all over the world are also likely to convert as soon as possible. Global support for renewable energy is coming very soon and it would be felt by everyone.
“With the COP27 in Egypt and COP28 in the UAE ahead, renewables provide governments with affordable energy to align with net zero and turn their climate promises into concrete action with real benefits for people on the ground,” said La Camera.
And if you still hear some doubts about renewable energy, then you might listen to the wrong media. Dr Rupert Way, one of the researchers in the study mentioned above said indeed it was predicted that renewable energy would cost so high that it would be unreachable, but the fact said the opposite.
“Past models, predicting high costs for transitioning to zero carbon energy have deterred companies from investing and made governments nervous about setting policies that will accelerate the energy transition and cut reliance on fossil fuels. But clean energy costs have fallen sharply over the last decade, much faster than those models expected,” he said.
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