Wednesday, 26 June 2024 12:37
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Energy is referred to as the heart of the globe and its functioning. The world is fast becoming a global village due to the increasing daily requirement of energy by all populations across the world while the earth in its form cannot change. The need for energy and its related services to satisfy human social and economic development, welfare and health is increasing. All societies call for the services of energy to meet basic human needs such as: health, lighting, cooking, space comfort, mobility and communication and serve as generative processes. Returning to renewables to help mitigate climate change is an excellent approach which needs to be sustainable in order to meet energy demand of future generations.
The world’s growing energy need, alongside increasing population led to the constant use of fossil fuel-based energy sources (Coal, Oil and Gas) which became troublesome by creating several challenges such as: depletion of fossil fuel reserves, greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental concerns, geopolitical and military conflicts, and the continual fuel price fluctuations. According to research, renewable energy sources are considered to be the finest and only alternative solution to such issues.
For renewable energy to be sustainable, it must be limitless and provide non-harmful delivery of environmental goods and services. For instance, a sustainable biofuel should not increase the net CO₂ emissions, should not unfavourably affect food security, nor threaten biodiversity.
In spite of the outstanding advantages of renewable energy sources, certain shortcoming exists such as: the discontinuity of generation due to seasonal variations as most renewable energy resources are climate-dependent, that is why its exploitation requires complex design, planning and control optimization methods.
Fortunately, the continuous technological advances in computer hardware and software are permitting scientific researchers to handle these optimization difficulties using computational resources applicable to the renewable and sustainable energy field.
Renewable energy and climate change
Climate has been changing since the beginning of creation, but what is alarming is the speed of change in recent years and it may be one of the threats facing the earth. The growth rate of carbon dioxide has increased over the past 36 years. Since 1850, the global use of fossil fuels has increased to dominate energy supply, leading to a rapid growth in carbon dioxide emissions.
Renewable technologies are considered as clean sources of energy and optimal use of these resources decreases environmental impacts, produces minimum secondary waste and are sustainable based on the current and future economic and social needs. Renewable energy technologies provide an exceptional opportunity for mitigation of greenhouse gas emission and reducing global warming through substituting conventional energy sources.
Challenges affecting renewable energy sources
Renewable energy sources could become the major energy supply option in low-carbon energy economies. Disruptive alterations in all energy systems are necessary for tapping widely available renewable Energy sources. In addition, technological innovations affect the cost of renewable energy technologies which in turn leads to market failures and low patronization of renewable energy technology. In the light of this, an effective renewable energy policy should take the interconnection of factors affecting renewable energy supplies and sustainability into consideration.
Renewable energy sustainable development
Renewable energy sources provide opportunities in energy security, social and economic development, energy access, climate change mitigation and reduction of environmental and health impacts.
Social and economic development: The energy sector has been perceived as a key to economic development with a strong correlation between economic growth and expansion of energy consumption. Globally, per capita incomes are positively correlated with per capita energy use and economic growth can be identified as the most essential factor behind increasing energy consumption in the last decades. It in turn creates employment and has been proved that employment from renewable energy technologies was about 2.3 million jobs worldwide.
Climate change mitigation: Renewable energy sources used in energy generation helps to reduce greenhouse gases which mitigates climate change, reduce environmental and health complications associated with pollutants from fossil fuel sources of energy. The records of the past decades show that greenhouse gas emissions declined by 14% in 33 EEA countries between the years 1990–2012.
To mitigate climate change and its impacts, the following policy recommendations are suggested globally in order to produce renewable energy wisely.
All sectors and regions have the potential to contribute by investing in Renewable energy technologies and policies to help reduce it.
Reducing our carbon footprint through the changes in lifestyle and behaviour patterns can contribute a great deal to the mitigation of climate change.
Changes in our use of energy in a more efficient way as individuals, countries and the world as a whole. Efforts that aim at increasing the share of renewable energy and clean fossil fuel technologies into the global energy portfolio will help reduce climate change and its impacts.
Conclusion
The return-to-renewables will help mitigate climate change is an excellent way but needs to be sustainable in order to ensure a sustainable future for generations to meet their energy needs. Even though the complete lifecycle of renewable energy sources have no net emissions which will help limit future global greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, the cost, price, political environment and market conditions have become barriers preventing developing, least developed and developed countries from fully utilising their potentials. In this way, a creation of global opportunity through international cooperation that supports least developed and developing countries towards the accessibility of renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean energy technology and research and energy infrastructure investment will reduce the cost of renewable energy, eliminate barriers to energy efficiency (high discount rate) and promote new potentials towards climate change mitigation.
