Are We On Track To Stop Climate Change?

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Then in 2011, the increase in investment continued to grow, bolting to $260 billion as Pete Danko noted here in a story about the recent Bloomberg news that – at least in 2011 – the U.S. actually outspent China in renewable investment, with $55.9 billion to China’s $47.4 billion, in the last of the Recovery Act spending; a one time push for clean energy that rivaled the Manhattan Project.

And the EU, with even more stable climate policy, was responsible for almost half the new global clean energy push with $100.2 billion. That is good news because the EU share will likely continue to grow, as its climate legislation creates a persistent long term mandate to increase renewables under the Kyoto Accord.

climate change, Susan Kraemer

image via Shutterstock

And the IEA, and Bloomberg’s figures, do not include hydro power. If we add in the $45 billion spent on large hydro in 2010, and the $10 billion on small hydro, even the first year is almost halfway to the $500 billion goal, and the second year totals $315 billion, more than halfway.

Here is why a hydro count is important. Currently, Africa produces the least hydropower, only 3 percent of the world total, but is considered the region with the greatest potential for increased production.

And in the Durban climate negotiations, the EU changed its rules regarding which countries qualify for future Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) funds. Starting in 2012, only the poorest countries, mostly in Africa, will qualify for future CDM funds. The EU CDM funding propelled renewable power development in the less developed countries to higher levels than in the OECD nations. (See: Big Clean Energy Projects Seek Big EU Funding).

So with global annual investment going up every year since we got the target needed from the IEA, it looks as if we are not that far off track to do the job.

To get more than halfway to the $500 billion investment target within just the first two years of really trying, even with a global economic downtown that echoed the Great Depression, is evidence that we could get there. The scale-up needed is not something that is completely out of reach.

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Posted on January 24th, 2012 · Comment ↓

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Posted in Green Building, Green Living, Renewable Energy

  • http://www.facebook.com/StartLoving1 Start Loving

    Brava. Brava. Brava.u00a0 Unless you, and or others drive this reality in to the press, there is no hope.u00a0 Brave.u00a0 Lester Brown’s Plan B 3.0 provides us the best yardstick to measure progress by but neither he nor others have used it as such.u00a0 Brave.u00a0 Please make this a regular focus.

    • http://muckrack.com/dotcommodity Susan Kraemer

      Thank you, Start.nnI actually did start out writing from frustration with the media like yours.u00a0nnThe data produced on page 31D of the NYT or the WSJ had the slant reversed: the “$100 billion in costs to supply clean power to the least developed” – meaning “oh dear, that is too costly; please let’s just not”.u00a0nnI would rewrite the story as the news that the data suggests that supplying this will be a $100 billion opportunity for the clean energy sector.

  • Ronald

    Okay, 10.5 trillion or 500 billion a year.u00a0u00a0u00a0 But have you subtracted what’s not going to be spent on fossil fuel sources.u00a0u00a0 That’s a lot of money that’s not going to have to be spent buying coal, oil and nat gas.

    • http://muckrack.com/dotcommodity Susan Kraemer

      Very good point! And not just one time capital expenses for these – but the yearly fuel costs of keeping their power plants fed!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Robert-Bernal/100000532403856 Robert Bernal

    Should be spending billions on developing just robotic factories that mass produce (the best kind of) solar panels and batteries. We need like 250,000 square miles of it globally. Imagine the install jobs!nPut everything else aside… unless we want to consider closed cycle molten salt reactors, the other, easier alternativeu00a0(such as LFTR and IFR). Kinda technical, but MUCH safer and more efficient that the water cooled reactors in use today. The key to unlimited clean energy (aside from renewables) is being able to fission thorium (and deal with the many chemical processing steps involved).

  • Omnie

    Look at Co2now.com – a decade of ‘so-called’ renewable energy costing billions has seen the emissions of co2 not just continue to increase but actually ACCELERATE..nWhy?. The reason is obvious and like wars and poverty – mankind is uncontrollable.nEmissions have 78 million more people every year needing additional energy.nThe major renewables – wind, tide & sun -u00a0are intermittent – ie unreliable. and need thermal back up.nThe only way fossil fuel will stop burning is when there’s none left.nGreen lobby condems the use of emmission free nuclear energy -u00a0even the fusion variety.nnPessimist – no a realist – like -u00a0have a look at Las Vagus at night asu00a0an example of the uncontrollable problem. nnThere a dozen more effective solutions thanu00a0these hugely expensive and useless wind farms.nnn

    • Cwls

      Wind power is intermittent at any given place, but the wind is always blowing somewhere. What we need is a smart grid to distribute the power from where the wind is blowing to where it is needed. For example, a series of offshore wind installations could supply all power, continuously, for the East Coast states. The same should be true for the West Coast. That’s most of the US population.nnAnd the sun is always shining on the hottest days, when demand for electrical power is highest. nnSupplement this with tidal and hydro power, and you’ve got it covered.

  • madman10

    I wish these people would either educate themselves, or stop lying to everyone about climate change. Even if we stopped ALL use of fossel fuels, 100%, we still would’nt be able to influence the climate. What is happening is NOT man caused. The climate has been fluctuating for millions of years, and it will never stop. And who are they to say what the ideal temp is anyway? Just because they like it the way it was 50 years ago? Sure. This planet has been through many cycles of (extreme) heating and cooling WAY before we had SUV’s, gas and oil burning furnaces, wood stoves and the like. The Earth does what it does and we can NOT do anything to cause it, or stop it. So stop with the lies.